The Second Bet: Crossovers
by Flashfyre5
Summary: After a year of sweat and tears from writers around the country, it's time to present to you, the reading public, the fanfiction of The Second Bet.
1. update for 4/4/02

Update for 4/4/01:  
  
Flashfyre5 is not a happy voting coordinator. After a fellow reader with sharp eyes pointed out to me that three votes seemed rather similar, I investigated them myself. Three votes in a row for TransRanma, all of which ARE strikingly alike. "Queen Mab", "Queen Elizabeth", "Leafs Girl", you have precisely two days to e-mail me to prove that you are not one and the same person. If, indeed, the three ARE one, all three votes will be DQ'ed. Don't dupe the votes, people. I don't want to deal with this again. If anyone else has duped votes, come forward now and I will preserve three of them instead of eliminating all. I have suspicions about a few other votes. Here's the standings:  
1.)Lone Dragon at 24 votes.  
2.)eXtreme Measures at 21 votes.  
3.)Roshi's Story at 19 votes.  
Quote of the day- "Voting is good. Honest voting is better." ~Unknown  
  
Update for 3/31/02:  
  
Hey, all! To all you christians out there, happy Easter. To everyone else, just remember that Aetheism is a non-prophet organization. Heres the voting thus far! Lone Dragon leads with 18, followed closely by eXtreme measures, with 16. Out of nowhere, Roshi's Story has snuck into third, grabbing 14 votes. Keep em coming, guys!  
  
Update for 3/25/02:  
  
I missed the last few updates, guys- sorry. Life called, and I had to answer. Anyway, the voting stands thus- eXtreme Measures at 10 votes, Lone Dragon at 8, and TransRanma at 7. C'mon, guys, let's see some more voting!  
  
Daily Update for 3/17/02:  
  
Sorry about not getting everything up yesterday, everyone. An emergency cropped up, and I had to go tend to some personally important matters. Thus, I'm going to put all votes made thusfar on hold. If I recieve more votes from people, I will disregard their earlier vote. Otherwise, I will count them as accurate and treat them accordingly. Once again, my apologies. Now, on with the show!  
  
  
  
  
Hey, everybody! This is Flashfyre5, the director of The Second Bet. As of March 15, entries were finalized, and the voting period officially started! Here, you will find a number of crossovers, all of which have been entered in The Second Bet. For the next month, approximately, I will accept votes from all of you, and I will then announce the winners. This requires that you, the readers, tell me what you think. Thus, once you've read all the fanfics in this section, would you please either post a review OR send an e-mail to Flashfyre5@aol.com. In this review/e-mail, please tell me, in order, your favorite three fanfics. Base your decisions on these criteria:  
  
-Originality  
-Creativity  
-Execution (how well they pulled it off)  
-Appeal (How much you liked it)  
  
You don't have to spend a page and a half explaining yourself. An acceptable entry would look something like this:  
  
Header: 2nd bet crossover vote  
  
Body: 1.) the accidental bet  
2.) lone dragon  
3.) roshis story  
  
  
Thanks for your time, and enjoy the fanfiction!  
~Flash 


	2. The Accidental Bet

Subj:** [FFML] [Ranma/TM][2nd Bet]The Accidental Bet: Prologue**  
Date:9/23/2001 12:19:11 AM Central Daylight Time  
From:whats_in_a_name123@hotmail.com (Kevin B.)  
Sender:ffml-bounce@anifics.com  
To:ffml@anifics.com  
  
  
This is going to be my entry into the Second Bet, once I get it into final   
form. C&C is welcomed, and possibly begged for on bended knee.  
  
  
  
  
_________________________________________________________________  
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp  
  
  
-- Attached file included as plaintext by Listar --  
-- File: Accidental Bet prologue.txt  
  
The Accidental Bet: Prologue  
  
Disclaimer: None of it belongs to me. Except possibly for Mr. Fuzzykins.  
  
A snore broke the silence in the small stone room. Constructed entirely   
out of rough-hewn granite blocks, the room was almost completely bare of any   
distinguishing features.  
  
There were a few things that hinted that the room might be something more   
than it appeared, though. The glowing moss that draped the walls of the   
room was one such hint, lighting up the area with a soft, sourceless   
illumination.  
  
The pool of water was another clue. Surrounded by a low stone wall, it was   
situated in the exact center of the room. Even though its walls gave the   
impression that there was no more than a few feet of liquid in the pool, the   
water was glassy and dark, suggesting that it was more than it seemed.  
  
And of course, the small red fox lying at the base of the well, peacefully   
napping completely clashed with the whole dark and magical atmosphere of the   
room. Not to mention the large cat lying on top of the wall, whose calico   
fur disrupted the mood even further.  
  
A voice suddenly spoke out of nowhere. "Imagine this: An ordinary fox,   
peacefully taking a nap. Its days are filled with all the normal activities   
that foxes are wont to do, eating, playing, sleeping, and the like."  
  
The fox's snoring cut off.  
  
"But today, this fox will be found to be a bit more than ordinary. It is   
something that would cause many to curse his name, if they but knew the   
events he will set in motion."  
  
The fox opened one eye, looking around for whatever had disturbed its   
sleep.  
  
"For many things are more than they seem, here in the twilight zone."  
  
The fox climbed to its feet, fully awake. "Hey Rod, long time no see." he   
commented, stretching idly.  
  
Rod, the god of dramatic entrances, dramatic exits, and, oddly enough, can   
openers, slowly faded into view at the entrance to the room. At the moment,   
he was wearing the form of one of his most famous followers, a tall, thin   
man in a dark suit. Thunder crashed as he stepped closer to the well in the   
center of the room. "Toltiir, Great Fox, I wish to enter in your Bet." he   
boomed in a deep, dramatic voice.  
  
"Sure." The cat waved his paw over the pool of water. The surface rippled   
for a moment, before calming.  
  
To almost any mortal watching, the images that appeared on the dark surface   
of the pool would have merely been a confused blur. Only the most powerful   
of magicians and sorcerers were able to comprehend an entire timeline,   
compressed into the small circular space that comprised the surface of   
Mimir's Well. Even if they possessed enough sheer power to do so, the   
enormous amount of magic required merely to cast the scrying spell and peer   
at the entirety of a separate universe was immense.  
  
Gods did it all the time. It was like television for them, except without   
the funny commercials with the talking frogs.  
  
"This timeline okay?" the cat asked, peering at the images flickering over   
the glowing surface of the pool. "In this one, right after Ranma and his   
father get back from China, Genma decides to follow up some stories of a   
shrine where they practice a unique fighting style before going to the   
Tendos. However, he and Ranma end up getting lost in the woods, and   
eventually end up in Nerima without ever finding the shrine. After that, it   
merges with one of the innumerable timelines where Akane manages to make a   
dish that ends up killing Ranma before her cooking begins to improve." He   
squinted. "It looks like it's the rat poison in this one." He paused for a   
moment, as he continued to scrutinize the Well, then winced. "And the   
turpentine." Another moment passed. "And I think that's some old lead   
based paint. And that looks to be-"  
  
Rob cut him off. "Yes, this timeline is fine." His loud, dramatic tones   
seemed to carry just a hint of impatience. "And I shall make my change with   
this." He reached into a pocket of his suit, and pulled out a fist-sized   
chunk of rock. It was an ordinary looking piece of stone, a dark gray lump   
of granite that came to a sharp point at one end. Specks of dust glittered   
on its rough edges, as he held it up and scanned the pool for the best place   
to make the toss.  
  
**********  
  
The celestial world that all the gods and goddesses lived in was a world   
primarily shaped by will. The majority of the world was gray and unformed,   
lacking shaped and substance. When a deity desired a home, they merely laid   
claim to a patch of this unformed area, focused their will, and created   
whatever sort of place they wished, from an ancient Egyptian pyramid to a   
modern condo with all the attendant luxuries. Once the desired result was   
achieved, there were ways to fix the location so that it remained as it was,   
but everything in the world of the gods was to some extent influenced by   
will and power. This included the shapes the gods and goddesses wore,   
allowing them to change appearance like sets of clothes, the places where   
they lived, and, to a small extent, the way they perceived the world around   
them.  
  
Because of this, no one ever bothered to create buildings with actual   
physical connections to other realms. After all, all that was required to   
go to another deity's domain was to concentrate as you stepped out of the   
door, and you would end up wherever you wished. Of course, there were a few   
exceptions, such as the great mall, where goods from all over the multiverse   
were sold, (one of the places where mortals mingled freely with gods and   
demigods), but most places boasted no physical connection to any other   
realm, relying on the abilities of the beings who inhabited the realm of the   
gods to enable them to get around from place to place.  
  
Even if you were unable to muster the power or concentration necessary to   
use this method of transportation, you would still be able to move around.   
Doors automatically stayed open to the place that the last person to go   
through them had gone. For those mortals not in the company of a god or   
goddess, and unable to muster the power to use the doors themselves, there   
were several hallways that contained doors whose destination never change,   
and opened onto the best-traveled areas in the celestial world.  
  
However, to use those hallways, you had to be able to get to them, and for   
that, you still needed to be able to get a door to send you to the hallway.  
  
Paladine, god of truth, justice, and all that good stuff, was currently   
cursing the fact that he was unable to muster enough concentration to find   
his destination, as he stumbled through door after door. He was cursing a   
lot of other things, too, as he tried to reach his destination. Several of   
those things he had been cursing all through the dinner that his friend   
Bacchus had served, and all the wine he had drunk to try and forget those   
things was the reason for his current inability to concentrate enough to set   
his own destination.  
  
He was cursing how he had been kicked out of his native universe by his   
father, along with all the rest of the gods there, for doing the celestial   
equivalent of stealing the car keys and locking his father, Chaos, in the   
basement. It was accepted celestial procedure! After all, just look at all   
the Greek gods! They had done the same thing, and you didn't see them   
getting punished for it. No, they were having a grand time over on Olympus,   
with no end in sight.  
  
Another thing that was receiving the weight of his displeasure was how   
things were developing back in his native universe. Not only had he and all   
his fellows gods (and goddess, couldn't forget that, Takhisis was very   
sensitive about sexual equality), been kicked out, but that hadn't been   
enough. No, now all his former worshipers had to go through all sorts of   
horrible hardships, and he wasn't even there to tell them to buck up, there   
was a light at the end of the tunnel.  
  
A third thing he was cursing was how there was no one around who could set   
one of the doors to a bathroom. Any bathroom. Even the disgusting one in   
the ninth level of hell which had never been cleaned since the creation of   
the universe, and was eternally out of toilet paper and soap.  
  
But the one thing that Paladine was cursing even more than the deserted   
state of the halls was how Bacchus had decided to put his bathroom in a   
completely different place from the rest of his house. That, and the fact   
that Paladine had not thought to ask someone else for help getting around.   
(Not that it was likely that anyone else at Bacchus's party would have been   
able to concentrate enough to use a doorway, either. Bacchus was the god of   
wine, after all.)  
  
Paladine stumbled through another doorway, still muttering under his breath.  
  
Slowly, it penetrated into his mind that the room he had just wandered into   
was different from the deserted rooms he had been stumbling through. This   
room contained several people, gathered around a pool of water. Sure, one   
of them was a cat, and one was a fox, but Paladine could recognize other   
gods when he saw them. The third person, however, was wearing a human   
shape, and appeared to be about to throw something in the water.  
  
The slightly unsteady god took a step forward and opened his mouth to ask   
for some assistance. His bladder was definitely telling him he needed to   
find a bathroom, and fast.  
  
However, his stomach had other ideas. Gases began to bubble up inside the   
celestial organ, and as soon as his lips parted, before he could even begin   
to form a request for directions, Paladine instead let out a long belch.  
  
**********  
  
  
This is probably a good time to interject with a brief note. Bacchus wasn't   
just the god of wine. In fact, his full title was something more like "God   
of Wine, Whiskey, Vodka, Beer, Mead, Ale, Bourbon, Gin, Fermented Mare's   
Milk, Those Drinks with the Little Umbrellas in Them, Pieces of Fruit That   
Have Been Left Sitting Out Too Long, Various Intoxicating Magical Potions,   
Miscellaneous Brightly Colored Liquids with Insects, Lizards, or Bits of   
Fruit Floating in Them, Along With Any Other Drink That Makes Your Head Seem   
Like It's About To Explode, Either When You Drink It or The Morning After".   
Considering this, it should be no surprise that some of the drinks that   
Bacchus mixed up had worse side effects than a mere hangover. Some of his   
drinks could cause you to grow extra limbs, suddenly outline you in light of   
various colors, randomly teleport you somewhere else, or even turn you into   
a newt. (Of course, you'd get better. Eventually.). And Bacchus never   
hesitated to serve these drinks to guests at his party. It was one of the   
things that made them so interesting.  
  
Considering this, Paladine was actually rather lucky. The florescent blue   
fireball that shot from his mouth when he burped was actually very mild,   
compared to some things Bacchus's drinks could do.  
  
Of course, that probably wasn't very reassuring to Rob, as the fireball   
impacted on the rock he was holding.  
  
Rob was also lucky though, in a sense. Sure, the rock that he was going to   
place his bet with had just been blasted by a fireball. However, at least   
it hadn't been destroyed. Instead, the fireball had imparted an enormous   
amount of momentum to the rock, sending it flying out of Rob's grip with the   
speed of a bullet. It bounced crazily off the walls, leaving a series of   
dark patches where it scraped off the glowing moss. It clipped the end of   
Great Fox's tail, ripping off a few hairs as the Native American god dove   
for cover. Rebounding off the floor, it headed straight for Toltiir's face,   
only to bounce off a transparent shield raised by him at the last moment.   
Continuing to ricochet wildly off the walls, the rock tore the phrase "hi   
mom" into the front of Pladine's shirt, though it was unable to harm the   
immortal flesh beneath.  
  
Finally, the rock bounced off the ceiling and, with a certain sense of   
finality, sped straight into the middle of Mimir's well with barely a   
splash. However, the ripples it made quickly attracted Toltiir's interest,   
as he began to avidly study them.  
  
Meanwhile, behind the back of the preoccupied cat, Rob turned to glare at   
Paladine, who gave him a sheepish look, hiccuped, and turned into a newt.  
  
**********  
  
  
Mr. Fuzzykins was not a happy cat. Of course, with a name like Mr.   
Fuzzykins, this was no surprise, but his discontent extended farther than   
that. In fact, it extended all the way back to his childhood, when he was   
just a cute, wide-eyed kitten.  
  
This is the point where most psychiatrists would immediately diagnose it as   
depression and blame it on his parents. Then, they would proceed to   
prescribe two drugs to deal with the symptoms, four more drugs to take care   
of the side effects of the first two drugs, and then another seven drugs to   
reduce the side effects coming from those drugs and their interactions with   
each other and the original two drugs. At this point, the patient would be   
such a quivering wreck from the massive overmedication that the   
psychiatrist, panting heavily and more than a little wild-eyed from dealing   
with the patient's constant complaints about what the drugs were doing to   
him, would feel fully justified in having him committed to an asylum.   
(Whether the doctor or the patient would be the one committed is unclear.)  
  
Unfortunately, this would all be wrong. Mr. Fuzzykins's parents had been   
very kind and compassionate. The problems had started after he had been   
taken away from them.  
  
The cat that had birthed him had been a beloved pet of a small family.   
Unfortunately, the family had been unable to keep the kittens, and, in the   
traditional way for a family to dispose of excess offspring of their pets,   
the kittens were deposited in a box outside the house, with a small sign   
asked people to take them and give them a new home.  
  
At first, the newly-wed couple who had picked Mr. Fuzzykins had seemed   
perfect. They had adored him, buying loads of cat toys for him, giving only   
the highest quality cat food, and generally pampering him silly as they   
debated on what to name him. He had been happy living the good life, until   
the couple finally settled on Mr. Fuzzykins as his name.  
  
That had been the first strike.  
  
Still, life had remained pretty good. He still was pampered silly, and it   
was starting to look like that would continue forever, even though he still   
winced whenever he heard his name.  
  
Then came the second strike. A strange little creature, about his size, had   
suddenly appeared around the house. HIS domain. On top of that, the humans   
who he deigned to allow to feed and house him had, instead of driving out   
the intruder and restoring him to his rightful place as lord of the   
household, pushed him and the tiny creature closer together! What did they   
think he was, a chew toy for whatever chose to wander into the house?!  
  
Not only that, but the luxuries had begun to dry up, siphoned off by the   
intruder in his domain. The cat food had gradually degraded to lower and   
lower quality brands, while new cat toys became scarcer and scarcer.  
  
But even that had been livable. The final indignity had started a little   
later.  
  
It had come gradually. A closet that he had always gone in before closed, a   
room that contained on of his favorite sleeping spots locked away behind a   
closed door. Gradually, it had grown, until he had been confined to the   
laundry room and a bathroom.  
  
Now, it had finally climaxed in this: thrown into a confining cat carrier,   
strapped on top of a car along with a jumble of luggage, while his humans   
and the intruder rode snug and dry inside. Not only that, but the entire   
carrier was made of pink plastic. Bright pink plastic. Plastic the   
florescent color of pink that almost seems to sear through your eyelids and   
leave a permanent impression on your retina. Not only that, but the name   
Mr. Fuzzykins was written on the side in large, flowery letters. It was the   
last straw for the cat, and he was determined to leave as soon as he got a   
chance.  
  
Unfortunately, though the quality of the cat food may have gone downhill,   
his humans had not stinted on the cat carrier, and Mr. Fuzzykins found   
himself with no way out. He had pawed at the metal grille covering the end   
of the carrier for a while, but had found it futile. Though his paw could   
reach the simple latch that held him in his place of imprisonment, the   
padlock keeping that latch firmly closed was beyond him. Finally, he just   
gave it up and merely stared moodily at the dripping forest passing by   
outside.  
  
**********  
  
A loud *CRACK* startled Mr. Fuzzykins out of the daze he'd fallen into. He   
watched in surprise as a large rock smashed into the padlock on his carrier,   
completely destroying it and allowing the door to swing open freely.  
  
He was unsure where the rock had come from, but this was just the   
opportunity he had been looking for, and he wasted no time in making his way   
out of the cat carrier, before jumping off the top of the car as it slowed   
to make a turn.  
  
And after all, he was a cat. Of course the universe would rearrange itself   
to met his needs.  
  
**********  
  
Ranma Saotome was having a Bad Day. At the moment, he (or currently she,   
thanks to a curse that had been picked up in China), was slogging through a   
wet forest, wet, hungry, lost, and miserable.  
  
This all had a few simple causes. First, her stupid father, Genma, had   
decided that they should take a detour from visiting an old friend of his   
and instead go find a shrine that he had heard stories about. Apparently,   
they practiced a unique fighting style, and of course she and her father had   
to go learn it.  
  
And of course the bus that would have taken them straight to the steps of   
the shrine was too expensive to ride.  
  
And of course they didn't need to waste money on a map. This was Japan,   
after all! Their homeland! They should be able to navigate by instinct!   
By the singing of the land in their blood and the smell of the plants in the   
air! And besides, the maps had cost a whole five hundred yen, and   
(unbeknownst to his child) Genma had seen a vending machine that sold   
delicious-looking snack cakes for only for only a hundred yen each. (He had   
gotten five and immediately eaten them all. Wouldn't have wanted the boy to   
get out of shape by eating such unhealthy things, after all.)  
  
And of course food was much more important than the compass which they might   
have used to find their way. (Genma had pawned it for six hundred yen,   
which had gone straight into the vending machine.)  
  
Even that wasn't the worst of it, though. It had been a beautiful day when   
they had set out for the shrine. The sun had been shining, birds had been   
singing, and everything had been well with the world.  
  
That had been four days ago. After only a few hours of walking, Genma had   
decided that it would be much faster if they took a quick shortcut through   
the forest, resulting in them almost immediately getting lost.  
  
They had wandered in the woods for a few days, hungry and lost. (Genma had   
snuck into their packs and eaten most of the food the first night.) Earlier   
that day, they had finally come across a small town. Genma still hadn't   
spent the money to buy a map, but at least they had been about to stop at a   
restaurant to get some food in their stomachs, possibly followed by getting   
some supplies at the local grocery store.  
  
Unfortunately, the sky, which had been cloudy for several days, had opened   
up while they were right outside the restaurant. The sudden drenching had   
transformed Ranma from his normal body, that of a athletic black-haired boy,   
into an annoyingly cute red-haired girl. It had also changed his father,   
normally a rather portly bald man, into a large panda. Both transformations   
were due to the aforementioned Chinese curses that caused them to change   
into a different form at the touch of cold water (hot water reversed the   
process), which also were the fault of the elder Saotome.  
  
The townspeople, startled by the sudden appearance of a member of an   
endangered species in their midst, had not hesitated in calling animal   
control, forcing Ranma and his father to flee town.  
  
Now, as the rainy sky began to darken into night, Ranma was feeling very   
annoyed. He was cold, wet, in his hated female form, he had had nothing to   
eat for days besides what few berries and edible plants he could find, and   
it wasn't looking like things were going to improve anywhere in the near   
future.  
  
On top of all that, the odor of wet panda was starting to make him slightly   
sick to his stomach.  
  
This wasn't the worst day he had ever had. The catfist training, where he   
had been thrown into pits full of ravenous felines wrapped in various fishy   
delicacies had been worse, (and had given him a fear of cats that lasted up   
to this day, not to mention the other side effects). The day where he had   
trained at Jusenkyou with his father, and where he had picked up the curse   
that he hated so much, also qualified as one of the worst days of his life.  
  
In fact, now that he thought about it, when you had Genma Saotome as your   
sole parent and mentor, cold, wet, and hungry weren't all that unusual.   
Though female was a new twist, it still wasn't the worst day in his life,   
though it definitely was turning out to be pretty horrible. There was only   
one thing that could make this day worse (not counting the truly inventive   
forms of idiocy that Genma sometimes passed off as training), but Ranma   
tried not to think about that. After all, they were out in the middle of   
the woods. There was no way that a c- c- c- ...one of those things could   
be all the way out here.  
  
It was at that point that Mr. Fuzzykins, who had been exploring the   
interesting world up in the top of these things called trees, chased a   
squirrel out onto a branch that was just a little bit too thin to bear his   
weight. It broke, sending him falling through the air, to finally land feet   
first, right on top of the head of Ranma Saotome.  
  
**********  
  
Genma staggered through the woods, muttering under his breath. He couldn't   
believe his son could be so ungrateful! Not only had the boy been   
complaining for the last few days about all sorts of things, such as how   
they were lost, how they were soaked by the rain, and how hungry he was   
(Genma hadn't told Ranma about the store of food he still had under the   
false bottom in his backpack. After all, a martial artist's life was full   
of hardships, and the boy could always use endurance training.)  
  
Of course the ungrateful boy (well, technically he was a girl at the moment,   
which was something else that he was blaming on Genma. Honestly, Ranma just   
couldn't see that sometimes a martial artist ran into these obstacles on the   
way to true mastery. Taken right, they merely helped his rise in skill.   
Therefore, Genma considered it an essential part of Ranma's training to   
throw as many obstacles in his path as possible.) hadn't seen it that way.   
In fact, he had been such an ingrate that when he had fallen into the   
Catfist, a incredibly powerful technique that Genma had gone through a lot   
of hardship to teach him (after all, those fish sausages that had been used   
in the training had looked incredibly tasty), he, instead of showing his   
father the respect he deserved, had instead sliced up Genma before running   
off into the woods!  
  
Of course, Genma, being the kind, compassionate father that he was, was now   
tracking down the boy, hoping that he wouldn't get too far away while in the   
throes of the Catfist. (The move caused an incredible fear of cats in   
anyone trained in it. When the fear became too great, their minds retreated   
to get away from it, leaving them with the mind of a cat. While they were   
like that, they had enhanced senses and abilities, and were able to manifest   
claws of pure energy. Ranma usually used those claws to get back at the   
person who had put him through the torture required to actually learn the   
technique). Even though his son would probably attack him again, Genma was   
nobly tracking him down to prevent him from getting lost or hurting others.  
  
And besides, his wife would kill him if he managed to lose Ranma.  
  
**********  
  
Luckily, Genma had seen the direction Ranma had run after mauling him, or he   
might not have been able to pick up the trail at all, considering how Ranma   
also seemed to pick up the ability to leave almost no tracks when in the   
Catfist. Even with knowing the boy's general direction, it still took   
several minutes of careful tracking before Genma finally emerged into a   
small clearing in the forest. Ranma stood on all fours in the center,   
batting at something in the air that Genma couldn't see.  
  
As he moved around the clearing, attempting to keep from being noticed, he   
managed to get a closer look at what was so engrossing to the boy. It   
appeared to be a small ball, made out of some sort of grayish crystal.   
Miraculously, it was hovering about two feet off the ground, and whenever   
Ranma batted at it, it shifted a few inches, before swiftly moving back to   
its original position as soon as the red-haired girl removed her hand.  
  
As soon as Genma saw the sphere, old, well worn instincts immediately came   
into play. That sphere looked rather valuable, considering how it seemed to   
be made completely out of some form of dark crystal he had never seen   
before. Not to mention the fact that it was hovering in midair. He had no   
idea how that effect was achieved, but it ought to jack up the price two or   
three times.  
  
Many have wondered why, considering how skilled a thief Genma Saotome was   
(after all, he did invent two whole new styles of martial arts based on   
thievery), he was always so poor and strapped for money. After all,   
considering the variety of valuable objects he had stolen from various   
shrines and places of business over the years, he should have had enough   
money to last him for as long as he needed. Unfortunately, Genma possessed   
one tiny flaw in his thieving techniques. He was excellent at recognizing   
precious objects, incredibly skilled at removing them, and a master in the   
art of evading pursuit. However, when it came to actually selling the   
things that he had... found in various places, (such as other people's   
homes), he completely fell through. Any person with even the most   
rudimentary skills at bargaining was able to lead Genma around by the nose.   
(A four-year old whose lollipop Genma had once tried to acquire had managed   
to get Genma to agree to give her everything but the clothes on his back in   
return for the candy. That, and she had also managed to get him to engage   
his son to her dolly, because she thought the doll was lonely and needed a   
husband.) Considering all this, it's no surprise that Genma's brain, after   
running through some quick mental calculations, finally estimated the value   
of the sphere at about two thousand yen.  
  
**********  
  
Not far away, at the bottom of a dark lake, a spaceship was slowly   
rebuilding herself. Actually, she was far more than just a spaceship.   
Sure, in one form she was a large crystalline ship capable of destroying   
most other ships with incredible ease, but her other form was cute, furry,   
and small enough to be carried around by her pilot. (Though partner would   
have been a more accurate term, considering that she was completely capable   
of acting by herself.) She was a living creature who merely happened to be   
able to turn into a spaceship on a moment's notice, with feelings and dreams   
of her own. (Admittedly, a lot of them were about carrots, but that was   
normal for her.) She even had a name of her own, given to her by her   
creator, the woman who could almost be considered her mother; Ryo-Oki.  
  
At the moment, having been almost completely destroyed in an epic space   
battle, she was slowly rebuilding her body around her almost indestructible   
core. Of course, this was all taking place in a subspace pocket, so there   
were very few visible signs that anything was happening with the head-sized   
grey egg that formed her main core.  
  
There was the fact that the broken crystals that surrounded where her core   
lay on the lake bottom were slowly disappearing, as they were absorbed back   
into her structure by tiny probes she had sent out. Other probes, small   
crystalline orbs that flew around on miniature gravity repulsion drives, had   
left the lake and were wandering the vicinity, absorbing plants and small   
animals as a source of vital organic molecules. Like a teenager who   
consumes large amounts of food in order to fuel rapid growth in their body,   
Ryo-Oki was absorbing large quantities of materials in order to rapidly   
regrow herself.  
  
**********  
  
Back in the forest, Genma was preparing to make his move. His hand slowly   
slipped into his pack, withdrawing a packet of dried meat. All he had to do   
was toss the food to the other side of the clearing, then grab the crystal   
sphere while the boy was distracted. It was a foolproof plan!  
  
Just as he was about to make his move, the hovering orb suddenly gave off a   
blinding flash. A sudden wind arose, whirling towards the center of the   
clearing, while a loud boom staggered Genma as he tried to blink the spots   
from his vision.  
  
Finally, his sight cleared, revealing that the strange crystal sphere had   
vanished. Along with it had gone a large chunk of the clearing, and, more   
importantly, his son.  
  
Genma gulped. His wife was going to kill him, if the boy really had just   
vanished.  
  
His expression brightened as a thought occurred to him. Maybe the boy had   
just run off, scared by the noise and light! Yes, that had to be it! And   
as a loving father Genma would go find him and continue to make him a man   
among men, so his wife wouldn't chop off their heads!  
  
After he finished the open packet of meat in his hand, of course. First   
things first, after all, and there was no sense in letting good food go to   
waste.  
  
**********  
  
Somewhere, there was a garden. It was a beautiful place, with the sun   
always shining and birds chirping merrily in the background. Plants from   
worlds all over the galaxy lived in it, filling it with a almost   
overwhelming variety of scents and colors, while the noises of hundreds of   
exotic animals blended to form a wonderful symphony in the background.   
Gentle breezes wafted through it, carrying a variety of sparkling insects   
who glittered like jewels in the sun. It was an almost perfect paradise,   
filled with species from planets scattered all over most of known space.  
  
With a small puff of displaced air, a black tomcat appeared in the garden.   
Looking around at the strange place it found itself in, it wondered where   
the interesting grey cat-toy that had been floating in front of it a second   
ago had gone. A moment later, such thoughts were forgotten as it became   
distracted by what a0ppeared to be a fuzzy pink mouse fleeing through the   
grass.  
  
**********  
  
In another part of the garden, a young woman wandered. Dressed in a simple   
blue dress, she drifted through the plants, stopping to sniff a particularly   
interesting flower or play with a cute little animal every now and then. A   
long time ago, she had retreated here, to this place of her own making, to   
escape. She couldn't remember exactly what she had wanted to escape from,   
having blocked those memories a long time ago. All she could recall were   
fleeting impressions of explosions, and screams, and a sense of utter   
helplessness to change what was happening. However, she remained certain   
that whatever had been outside her little sanctuary, it was much worse than   
this place she had created inside herself.  
  
The woman paused in her wanderings to bend down and greet a small animal   
that she hadn't seen in the garden before. New animals and plants, such as   
this one, appeared from time to time. The woman vaguely remembered that she   
had had something to do with setting that up, but she had walled off so much   
to escape those dreadful memories that almost everything in her mind was   
hazy or completely inaccessible.  
  
However, there was one thing that she had remained absolutely certain of for   
all the time that she had been here, and that was her name. She brought it   
to mind again as she petted the black cat that she had just come across.   
"Hello," she said, sitting down and scooping the tomcat into her lap, where   
it began to play with strands of her long brown hair. Tickling its nose   
with a strand of the long blue grass that grew in this area of the garden,   
she said to it "I'm Ryo-Oki. Nice to meet you."  
  
  
  
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	3. eXtreme Measures

eXtreme Measures  
  
Setting: Just after Jusendo and just before the failed wedding.  
  
  
  
The clear tenor voice literally sang the words "Change here."  
  
The pebble made a small splash into Mimir's Well and several of  
the godlings craned their necks for a better view.  
  
Toltiir (a.k.a. Puck, a.k.a. Trickster, a.k.a. etc) took one look  
at the scene and then turned towards the Angel. "Hark, even for  
one of the Herald Angels… you're weird."  
  
"Thank you Elder… I think."  
  
* * *  
  
Nabiki sat back in her chair and pinched the bridge of her nose.  
'All that work… For nothing.' She sighed and then looked at the  
paper that was sitting on her desk in front of her. Akane was  
going to freak. That was the only conclusion she could come to.  
It wasn't like she would cover this up for Akane and Ranma. It  
was too big and too important. "Damn… I should have known that  
anyone that overbearing about honor was hiding something. Damn  
you Nodoka."  
  
  
  
A short time later….  
  
  
  
"I'm WHAT!?! Nabiki, you gotta be shitting me!"  
  
"I wish Saotome… I wish Ranma."  
  
Ranma winced at the wording and then looked helplessly at Akane.  
All of the hassles were for nothing. None of his fiancés were  
his. Even Kodachi wouldn't want him now. Well, Shampoo was still  
his fiancé. Oh joy, oh rapture. Ukyou was going to have a  
conniption, he just knew it. And Akane… well Akane was just  
sitting there looking at him.  
  
The front door opening and closing was enough to break the  
tension for a moment. That is until it became evident that it  
was Genma and Nodoka. As Ranma stood up and headed towards them,  
Nabiki watched as Akane got up and slowly headed upstairs.  
  
"Mother, Genma, I need to talk to you." Neither one of them  
seemed to notice that he called hem Genma and not Oyaji.  
  
"We will be with you in a moment dear. As soon as…"  
  
"No Mother. Now."  
  
"Boy! What has gotten into you?" Genma bellowed. "You don't talk  
to your Mother that way!"  
  
Ranma simply turned and looked at him. "Shut up Genma. I don't  
want to hear it from you right now."  
  
"Oh really Boy!? We'll just see about that!…" The backhand came so  
fast, that Nabiki didn't even see it, only it's effect. Genma'  
head whipped around and he slammed into the wall. Hard.  
  
"Ranma! What on earth has gotten into you?" Nodoka strode forward  
and glared at her son. "You will not treat your father so."  
  
"My 'father'… Interesting word isn't it 'mother'? Nodoka heard  
the stress that Ranma put into both of the words and she  
instantly paled.  
  
Nabiki, sitting unnoticed over in the corner shook her head.  
'Yep, Nodoka now knows that he knows. This is going to get ugly.'  
Then she realized that Genma was getting groggily to his feet.  
'Whoops, make that VERY ugly.'  
  
Genma had just begun to tense for the leap towards his  
disgraceful boy when Ranma suddenly turned towards him. "Don't  
do it old man. I ain't joking this time."  
  
Many things could (and have) been said about Genma Saotome. One  
thing that was true was that Genma had a very well developed  
sense of self-preservation. There was something in Ranma's eyes  
and the dead cold tone in his voice that told Genma that it was literally  
worth his life to not mess with the young martial  
artist right now.  
  
Disregarding the older man as a non-threat and without  
bothering to look at his mother, Ranma started towards the  
side door. "I'll be in the Dojo mother. I'd like to talk to  
you… Now."  
  
  
  
Nabiki sat on the side porch and watched the Dojo intently.  
This was as near as Kasumi would let her go. Then again, after  
the third crash and flair of Chi, she wasn't all that sure  
that she wanted to get any closer.  
It wasn't like she couldn't hear them anyway. She shook her  
head bemusedly. She was used to Ranma yelling occasionally,  
and the old moron yelled almost as much as her daddy cried,  
but she hadn't expected Nodoka to be a screamer. The sudden  
silence was like a physical blow, and she rocked back a little  
before bending forward as if into the wind.  
  
An hour after it became quiet, the yelling commenced again.  
This time it was halted by Genma flying through the Dojo wall  
and into the koi pond, where the panda floated unconsciously. Amazingly,  
Nodoka and Ranma quietly exited. Nodoka headed directly towards the side  
exit without sparing the panda a look while Ranma headed directly towards  
Nabiki.  
  
  
  
Nabiki sat back on her bed with her back against the headboard  
and looked up at Ranma. "Ok, let me get this straight. Your  
real father is some gaijin that your mother met at a party  
one of her cousin's had. She was so struck by how manly he was  
that she got drunk, had sex with him, and got pregnant. To  
cover it up, she married Genma right after finding out she was pregnant."  
Ranma frowned at the way that Nabiki said what she  
had said, but then nodded in confirmation. "Damn…" Nabiki  
muttered. "I should have known something was weird about you  
just by looking at you, but I didn't."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Your blue eyes Ranma. How many Japanese do you know with Blue  
eyes?"  
  
Ranma nodded and then said aloud "Yea, I get what you're saying.  
How many do you know with red hair?"  
  
Nabiki's head snapped up a little as she stared him in the face.  
"That… That's a good question."  
  
Silence reigned for a moment and then she asked the important  
question. "What are you going to do now Ranma? Daddy is furious,  
as if you can't tell…" She was referring of course to the  
argument that could be heard coming from downstairs. Genma and  
Soun were on round two from the sounds of it.  
  
Ranma straightened up from where he had been slouching against  
the wall. The old Ranma fire was still there in his eyes as he  
stared at her. "I'm gonna find him. Find out who and what he  
is." He said in a low even tone. He suddenly became subdued and  
lowered his gaze. He finished with a barely muttered "After that…  
I don't know anymore."  
  
"Okaaaayyy." She drawled, and then changed topics. Have you  
talked to Akane about this yet?"  
  
"No. What's there to talk about? She already hated me before  
this. Now, I'm nameless AND a freak.  
  
"Look Ranma, I know you two didn't get along to well sometimes,  
and I don't think that you two were ready to  
get married yet, but…"  
  
"Forget it Nabiki. Ranma sighed, shook his head, and then  
continued. "Look, I ain't a Saotome, your old man is blaming ME  
for this and wants me gone, Akane and I have NEVER been a real  
couple. Hell, I don't know for sure how I feel much less how  
she feels. Let's face it. We screwed up any chance of me and  
Akane ever being a couple."  
  
"We?"  
  
"Yea, 'we' Nabiki. Akane on account of her anger and her  
jealousy, me on account of my mouth and my pride, and you on  
account that you just couldn't leave things alone and your greed." Before  
Nabiki could interrupt him Ranma continued on. "Yea Nabiki,  
I know you needed the money for the house and all but sometimes  
you went to far and you know it. It was all our faults Nabiki."  
  
"I…I guess you're right Ranma."  
  
"Well, look at the bright side Nabiki." Ranma's lip curled up  
slightly at the corner. "At least with me gone the property  
damage will go down."  
  
"So," Nabiki started again trying for nonchalant here "Where is  
it you are going again?"  
  
"Well his last known location was in New Yo…" Ranma stopped and  
then shook his head. "Nope, not this time Nabiki." He glared at  
her for a moment. "You're not going to use me one last time."  
  
"Oh come on Ranma, Why do you think I'm always going to use you?"  
  
"Because you do."  
  
Nabiki didn't really have an answer for this for a moment. Finally  
she sighed. "Look, I don't always use you. It could be that maybe,  
just maybe Kasumi and I do care about you and how you will be.  
  
"Kasumi, I believe will care. You? No.  
  
"Oh, come on Ranma. I always gave you a chance didn't I?"  
  
"No, actually you didn't Nabiki."  
  
"What? Oh come on Ranma, I always gave you at least a chance,  
always."  
  
Ranma walked over to her and looked her square in the eyes.  
"Really? Are you really sure of that Nabiki?  
  
"I'm sure enough that I would bet on it." Nabiki said a bit smugly  
and then sat back a little.  
  
"Okay, I'll take that bet Nabiki. What are we betting?"  
  
"Huh?" Nabiki was startled, she hadn't expected this.  
  
"You win, I'll give you the address that I'm going to. I win  
and you handle the Kuno's and the rest of the fiancé brigade  
as best you can after I'm gone, no fees.  
  
Nabiki's mind whirled for a moment going over the past, and  
then she smiled. "Okay Ranma, you're on."  
  
The words had barely left her mouth and he was suddenly in her  
face, their noses almost touching as he stared into her eyes.  
"You say you always give me a chance huh? Remember back when  
you and I was engaged for a little while Biki-chan?" Her eyes  
widened a little at this comment. "Now, I was your fiancé and  
I did try…Can you say the same? Can you honestly say that you  
gave me a chance to really be your fiancé?"  
  
Nabiki felt extremely small as she looked into his eyes. "I…I…  
No. I can't."  
  
Just as suddenly as he had appeared, Ranma had backed up. "I  
didn't think so. Bye Nabiki."  
  
Just before leaving out the door he looked back at her. She  
looked… insecure sitting there on her bed with her arms around  
her knees and staring at the wall. "Nabiki?" She looked up.  
"Salem Center, New York, Nabiki. In America." Her eyes widened  
as she realized what he had said. "And Nabiki? Guess we'll never  
know will we?" At her confused look he continued. "If we could  
have worked."  
  
And on that note he walked out and closed the door.  
  
  
* * *  
  
Ranma held on to the tickets with one hand and a small slip of  
paper with the other. "Thank you mother. I…I'll call after I  
find him."  
  
"I know you will my son. You will do well. You always do."  
  
"I… Thank you mother. I gotta go."  
  
"Goodbye my son."  
  
* * *  
  
And a small piece of paper held the following words in his mother's  
handwriting:  
  
Logan-san  
Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters  
1407 Greymalkin Lane, Salem Center, NY, 10274  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
Hark looked down into the well and then shook his head. "Well  
that is going to be interesting. I didn't foresee that." He sang.  
  
Toltiir looked in also and asked snidely. "What, you didn't  
foresee the New Mutants, Hellions, and the Sentinels just to name  
a few being involved? Being romantically chased by Magik, Karma,  
and even Wolfsbane besides about a dozen others?"  
  
"No." Hark sang. "I'm talking about that."  
  
  
* * *  
  
She just stared at Ranma. "You mean to tell me that this is your  
true father?" At Ranma's tense nod Cologne looked back and forth between  
Logan and Ranma and then finally just shook her head. "Well, THIS surely  
puts a crimp in Shampoo's marriage claim."  
  
"What do ya mean old ghoul?"  
  
Ignoring Ranma, Kuh-lon Matriarch of the Joketsuku and Grand Mistress of  
Amazon Wu-shu, turned towards Logan and bowed. "Hello Father."  
  
* * *  
  
  
And at Mimir's Well, the godlings present were witness to the remarkable  
scene of Toltiir facefaulting.  
  
  
  
  
Disclaimer: Ranma ½ belongs to Takahashi, Viz, and others. X-men  
and assorted characters belong to Marvel Comics. I'm just here  
to play in the sandbox for a little while.  
  
QuickSilver Knight  
C&C would be nice please.  
  
ps: There is a joke hidden in the very begining of the fic. Anyone  
want to take a guess? 


	4. In the Midst of Chaos

Irresponsible Captain Toylar: In the Midst of Chaos  
By James Barnhill  
  
Now on with the fic. Hmm, what? Oh yeah.....(scowl).......disclaimer time.  
  
None of these characters belong to me for if they did Id be obscenely wealthy and   
could afford a faster internet connection then a regular telephone modem, like a   
T-1 or a cable modem. Neither am I making any money off of this, instead Ive   
been daydreaming about a 1 GHz computer with a 75 GB hard drive, 512 MB of ram   
and assorted other items that I cant afford now. Nope not making one darn   
freeaking penny off of this idea....not now....or ever. Hope you enjoy yourself   
cause Ive just made myself depressed again.........rotten disclaimers......  
always make me think this way.......(continues to mutter to self for several   
hours as he walks away).  
  
Satisfaction Disclaimer: This fanfic will drive you nuts, how nuts? Think of the  
mentality needed to create such a story, thats how crazy you'll get:)  
  
------------------------------  
  
~Mirimers Well  
  
"Anymore Betters?" Tolitair called out. It was close to closing time for this Second Bet  
then they could start the voting to see which Second Bet won the chance to be continued,  
not that that would stop others from continuing their own bets if they had enough power but  
it took the place of a prize as one could never fully tell where a crossover timeline would  
go.  
  
"I...do."  
  
Great Fox looked up to see Rem limp back into the bar and raised an eyebrow. The dark   
shadows the covered the strange Q were themselves almost totally covered with gauze and  
bandages. He started to chuckle when he noticed the little animals printed on the band  
aids. "What happened to you, besides getting burned at the stake twice?" He tried to  
muffle the next series of chuckles but from Rem's expression he had failed miserably.  
  
"I went to the hospital, just my luck thats the day where its staffed totally by   
Mihoshi's. To make a long story short I blacked out a few times before finding myself in  
an atom smasher that shouldnt have been their! Im never going to the hospital again, I  
dont think Ill ever be able to sleep again.....all those Mihoshi's, the horror, THE   
HORROR!"  
  
Great Fox looked at Tolitair. "Thats new to me."  
  
Tolitair merely gave his patently smug expression from his place beside the Well. "Would  
you still like to make a Bet then?"  
  
Rem smiled and limped closer. "Yep. Though Im going to have to use something to do some  
fine betting. Would that be alright?"  
  
Great Fox shrugged. "Perhaps, lets see it first. Id rather not damage the Well   
afterall."  
  
Rem nodded and his face assumed its same nuetral expression, below his shoulders the thick   
bandages bulged outward before two new arms ripped through. "My secondary arms, very   
useful." Rem stated as an afterthought as his left forearm opened up in a series of   
sliding rectangular panels to reveal distorted space within. Siddenly a quartz sphere   
held in place by six long metal talons sprang up, then continued to climd until only the   
tip remainedwhat stood in place udner the globe looked like a can made out of diamond   
pieces, the largest resing under the quartz crystal with each successive level being   
smaller and smaller until it ended at the tip. Silently Rem handed the elaborate staff   
to Great Fox.  
  
"I call this the Turing Staff. The quartz crystal at the top is a photon based computer,   
each of those diamond levels is a different substance used for calculation that run  
throughout the entire spectrum of computational sciences from quantum particle   
interaction to simple gears and pulleys which can effect the eather of time and space."  
  
Great Fox looked it over. "Curious. It wont harm the Well though, just give you more   
control over a certain area of events. Go ahead and use it."  
  
Rem smiled as he took back the Turing Cane. "Thankyou. Now I just need to interface it   
to the Well. Ahah!" With a swift motion he buried the staff in the stone lip with only   
the   
quartz top showing. "Now to evolve the interface...."  
  
Tolitair's smile fell for a moment. "Evolve?"  
  
Rem just stared into the Well, his white ceramic face begun to take on a crack look as   
green glowing lines grew from his left temple to other parts of his face, in response to   
this his right eye changed from the dark eye to some form of cybernetic interface. "Good,   
assimilation complete, now to find the right point...."  
  
The image within the Well distorted and flowed in a dizzying series of pictures from   
various times and places all blending together until one box remained with a targeting   
rectagle flashing slowly around it.  
  
"There.....thats the one."  
  
------------------------------  
  
~Nerima, Tokyo  
  
"Honor demands it." Nodoka's gaze burrowed into Ranma's eyes as he dropped the seppuku   
contract.  
  
He could feel the tears forming in his eyes as no one, not one of the Tendo's, not even   
his own father, tried to dissuade her. In an attempt to save what face he had left he   
looked at the table's smooth surface, he hoped she couldnt see his face. But in the table   
he saw his mothers reflection, saw the revulsion and hatred she directed at him and Genma.   
Ever since he was a child he thought that his mother loved him, would love him, no matter   
what, it was one of the few things besides his friendship with Uchan that kept him going.   
But the look in her eyes when she first saw the curse told him how much of a freak he was.   
Closing his eyes he cried, his shoulders shook silently as he tried to hold back the sobs   
wracking his body. He heard, as if far away, the gentle tap of something being laid upon   
the tables surface. He opened his eyes, blinking them several times until the image of   
the tanto became clear from its place in front of him. Faintly he replied. "Hai,   
mother."  
  
------------------------------  
  
~Mirimers Well  
  
*Rem shows them what comes next by sabotoging the ****  
  
"Honor can do many strange things to the young."  
  
Tolitair kept his gaze locked onto the image as if trying to force the events transpiring   
before his eyes onto a different, happier, course.  
  
Rem smiled sadly. With a pulse from his implants the image changed to that of a research   
station that had been built into an asteriod coasting silently in deep space.  
  
"This is a place where the United Planets Space Force is working to develop a weapon to   
end the impending war with the Raalgon Empire. The project itself deals with modifications   
tocertain laws of hyperspace dynamics that allow ships to traverse space faster then the   
speed of light, in this case the modifications would allow a standard FTL drive to stay in   
place while transporting a object from one place to another. We are witnessing the first   
long range trails of this project. Now watch."  
  
----------------------------------  
  
~Location unimportant  
  
The image changed again to show an observation room, along one wall multiple computers   
carrying out their programs, occasionally shunting the data raw or processed to one of the  
work stations that had been set up along the other wall with a window running the length of  
the room that looked down upon a large room with several medium sized machines arrayed   
around a triangular platform.  
  
The room is deserted save for one old man intently running through different lists of   
equations. Silently the door behind him opens admitting a solitary figure with a strange  
box in his hands pointed strait at the old man.  
  
"Say cheese!"  
  
The old man suddenly turns around just as the box flashes, clutching his chest and staring   
wide eyed at the intruder. "Hero! What did I tell you about sneaking up on me!?"  
  
"Im sorry, Im sorry. I just cant help it doc, today were going to make history! A year  
from now the Raalgon wont be a problem anymore and our names will be in the history books  
as the ones who did it. Arent you excited?"  
  
The old man got up and walked past the young technician to the racks of computers, iddly  
running a finger over the surface of one and inspecting it for dust before turning back to   
the technician with a smile. "Of course Im excited, I just dont like to look foolish like   
you."  
  
"Come on Doctor Akari, the parties in the next room." So saying he started pushing the   
old man out the door.  
  
"Alright, alright, Im coming...just quit pushing me!"  
  
------------------------------  
  
~Mirimers Well  
  
The surface of the Well split, showing both images, one on each half.  
  
On the left of the Well Ranma knelt on the tatami mat in the dojo, behind him his mother   
stood patiently with her sword. Trembling slightly Ranma took the tanto out of its sheeth   
and placed the point to one side of his stomach.  
  
Rem's implants glowed lightly as the images wavered slightly. "Twelve volts of dc current   
should be sufficient, yes, almost there..."  
  
On the right side of the Well the control room was filled with scientists, technicians and   
some ilitary brass who tried to make sense of some of the thigns the scientists were saying   
in between checks. Dr. Akari left his seat and motioned strode over to a control box on   
the wall beside him dominated by a big blue button. With some flourish he pushed the   
button, immediately the machines arrayed around the triangular platform came to life with   
a highfrequency sound that made more then one person put their hands over their ears.  
  
Ranma looked at the tanto, as if seeing it for the first time and dropped it, behind him   
Nodoka raised her sword. Just as Ranma looked up he saw her face, and beyond that her   
sword begin to come down.  
  
Rem. "NOW!"  
  
Immediately the lights in the research center dimmed and went out completely as in the   
other image Ranma wavered and faded away just as Nodoka's sword cleaved the air where   
Ranma's neck once was, that image faded as the one of the control room expanded to take   
up the rest of the Well. In the center of the triangular pad Ranma's body lay still, his   
clothes lightly smoking as technicians rushed in to spray him with fire retardent foam.  
  
Rem looked over the image both through his eyes and the data from the implants and staff.  
He leaned back slightly and allowed himself a smile. "Good, good. Rather excellent   
timing if I do say so myself."  
  
Great Fox inquired from his side of the Well. "So what happens next?"  
  
Rem gave him a mysterious smile as the image in the Well wavered and was replaced. "Just   
watch, I think you will be surprised. Keep in mind what you are about to see comes from  
his point of view."  
  
------------------------------  
  
~4 years later, Soyokaze  
  
Morning, not that one could easily tell on a spaceship where the usual cycles of day and   
night are set according to a master computer. Then the information is usually sent to   
every piece of hardware that requires exact timing, like alarm clocks and the automatic   
dimmer controls that are used in the light panels for the corridors where the crew sleep.   
Of course on this ship not everything works perfectly, Ive seen several corridors whose   
lights shut off totally for no reason at all, makes me wonder if theres a technician   
somewhere thats laughing at his/her little joke.  
  
Then again if I do find out thats indeed true Ill introduce the poor s.o.b. to the marine   
that wears a hockey mask. Hehehe. Hmm, pleasant dream. Still, I wonder what that guys   
name is?  
  
The alarm by my bed is still blaring. I groggily wake up, slam my hand down on the snooze   
button, then hit it again for good measure before getting up for another day of make   
believe. Not that Im complaining mind you, but at certain times it does get tedious.   
Making sure the wig is on just right before applying the adhesive that will keep it there   
until shampoo comes in contact with it. First couple of times I used the stuff I glued   
several thingers together, ah sweet memories.  
  
Then comes the clothing I wear on duty, the first layer is composed of a strong kevlar   
like fiber that makes sure my body assumes one shape, no matter what the consequences,   
then comes the slightly dingy flight suite that I never got used to. Now I spend several   
minutes looking at the mirror at myself while mentally repeating all the reasons for   
hiding who I really am, the disgust that most people show which would soon be followed by   
curiosity as if I were some sort of freak. After that I mentally review all of the   
escape plans I came up with, along with my........other plans.  
  
But Im human, not that some of those scientist at the research labs would agree with me   
since they would then loose the chance to disect me when the opportunity presents itself.   
Then I would start to accumulate enemies and lovers galore, I dont want any of that, not   
anymore. Unlike my father I just want to live my life with a bit of excitement until I   
can just fade into obscurity without anyone really noticing. The only real reason Im on   
this ship is because its usually very far away from troublesome civilization, away from   
people who would just hurt me after asking to be freinds with me.   
  
Then captain Taylor came, I dont hate him or anything, truth to tell he's alot easier to   
get along with then the last captain. Im stil happy about my part in helping the marines   
blow up the bastard, for some reason he had a no tolerance policy for those people who   
didnt spit shine their shoes.   
  
Compared to him Captain Tylor's almost like a freind. No, I cant have any freinds, it   
would just hurt me more when they find out who and what I am. I just wish that captain   
Taylor didnt attract so many wemon to this ship, they make me edgy, especially when their   
near my plane or myself I can just feel their eyes probing me for the secrets I've worked   
so hard to hide from everyone aboard this ship.   
  
I quickly brush away the unshed tears that come to my eyes as memories of that other life   
flash before my eyes, all the humiliation and pain, for nothing. I look over at the   
alarm clock to note that Im on shift in 45 minutes. Quickly I insert the contacts into   
my eyes, changing the color from deep blue to light brown. For a moment I begin to think   
of what will happen should they discover my identity today. Where will I go? Who will I   
trust, if anyone? What would I do?  
  
Its getting hard to keep up this ruse now. Truthfully I wouldnt mind sending a couple of   
my ki attacks at those aliens were now at war with. Or actually fighting those marines   
with all of my speed and strength, but I cant. There would be too many questions like   
why I havent socialized with anyone while on this ship, or why I never went off the ship   
during shore leave. But I cant trust any of them, even with my life. On a ship this   
small there arent too many unknown hiding places that would last for long, I probably   
wouldnt be able to reach any of them before someone caught up to me, then everyone   
else'd start poking me and asking embarrassing questions. I dont ever want to go back   
to that!  
  
But theres no going back now, Ive kept up this disguise for two years, If Im lucky maybe   
Ill be able to transfer to another ship like this one only no wemon. I dont hate wemon   
or anything its just that I've had bad experiences with them, especially the violent ones.  
My mother is a prime example. I still cant believe, no, that should stay in the past.  
  
Luckily for me the DMC was testing a new transportation device that could transport matter   
from one location to another severel hundred kilometers away, as far as I understood it   
worked like the hyperdrive on the ships they use except the modified hyperdrive   
transported an object or person to a set destination without transporting itself as well.   
They were planning on using it to take over Raalgan ships and planets without having to   
deal with the defenses that could cost lives and ships. They're not sure exactly what   
went wrong but instead of beaming a object from an asteroid in the target zone the   
transporter locked onto me and here I am, though none of them know if Im from their past   
or a different universe. Not that that much matters now since after I appeared there   
a group of Raalgan terrorists assaulted the research facility and managed to destroy   
all of the prototypes and documents.  
  
Sometimes I get the impression that I ran away from my problems. Yet even if that were   
true I dont think there was any other way for me to appease my own mother without killing   
myself. Besides, wasnt like I had much to live for on that world anyway. No family, no   
freinds, nothing.  
  
I hasten to fasten the voice modulator around my throat then slip it below the collar of   
my flight suite. Wouldnt want people noticing my voice changing when I do.  
  
I take a final glance into the mirror to see my new life, today I am Ensign Kojiro Sakai.  
  
Last night, while in bed, I was Ranma Saotome, practitioner of Anything Goes Martial Arts.   
  
Today, if everything goes right, I wont be discovered.  
  
I hope.  
  
---------------------------------  
  
~Mirimers Well  
  
Gently grasping the top of his staff Rem pried it out of the stone, careful not to damae   
the Well in any way shape or form.  
  
Great Fox stared at him. "How does Ranma become Kojiro, he isnt afraid of wemon."  
  
"He wasnt, look back two years and you'll see the reason for his fear." So saying he   
stopped in front of Tilitair and Great Fox to bow to each. "Thankyou for letting me   
participate in this Second Bet, its been a learning experience. If your not adverse to   
itId like to come back here someday." With that he walked off into the crowd before   
either diety could reply, and just like that he was gone.  
  
----------------------------------  
  
Authors Notes: Congratulations for finishing this second entry of mine. It was a tad   
rough wasnt it? Arent all ideas at first? But no one wants to hear that do they, so   
lets skip it. I thought this might make an interesting crossover if for no other reason   
then that itsimply exists. If you have ideas on how to improve this idea/fanfic then I   
want to hear them.  
  
As for match-ups.....well Im just not too sure about that part, their may not even be a   
match-up at all. But if you feel you have a strong enough argument then by all means  
try to persuade me.  
  
All thoughts, comments, C+C, random ideas and just casual chit-chat appreciated. Flames  
will be printed out and folded into paper airplanes.  
  
I can be reached at: Mecvolve@onebox.com  
  
Until next time, Ja Ne. 


	5. Infirta's Son

Toltiar smiled as he watched the crowds milling around the well. The second   
bet was almost over and it had been fun. This was the last day and many   
last minute entries were coming in. Final bets were being place.  
  
Then he spots something that nags at his mind. An unknown figure crouching   
by the well. Something about him was tugging at his mind. Approaching   
this figure, he watches him for a few second up close. Before. "~uoy~?"  
  
The man, really more like a young boy, looks up and looks at Toltiar. Then   
smiles. "~rathnik!~ Bah ker/hashina/ [/peurrayy/]!" (1)  
  
Toltiar paled. Severely. His fur changing from black to grey.  
  
The young boy chuckles. "Kidding, kidding!" The boy says.  
  
Immediately Toltiar regains his color and glares at the young boy. "BAD   
joke. VERY BAD JOKE!"  
  
The boy stifles his giggles, then shrugs "Actually, HE." The boy points   
upwards in a general sense "wanted to see me. I'm on my way their now.   
But I saw the activity over her and decided to drop by and seem my old   
friend." The boy smiles gently. "Now that I have, ~rathnik!~, maybe you can   
tell me what's up?"  
  
"Don't call me that ~uoy~! I go by Toltiar. And what's up is that we are   
holding a second bet. Crossovers/fusions this time." Toltiar looks at   
~uoy~. "Would you care to enter?"  
  
"Sure! I wanted to the first time, but I was on the case of a D-incursion   
at the time and missed it. And Toltiar, I am going by Zack right now. Not   
~uoy~." The boy smiles, and then turns back to the well. "Let's see. I   
think I'm going to keep to my style. Subtle as possible. And with maximum   
effect." The boy points at the image in the well. "There." A ripple   
spread across the pond. "A minute change, merging the two with as little   
direct conflict."  
  
"This is a contest to make a Large and unique change. This looks like a   
weak entry. Heck, where is Ranma in this thing? I see no trace of him at   
all!" An unnamed good says from his position across from Zack.  
  
"Oh, that's because he isn't to be born for another 5 years. AND it isn't   
centered on him. Not directly. Now, shall we take a look at the Jusenkyo   
incident?"  
  
  
(1): this is a VERY old language, and outside a few Very old gods and a   
handful of historians, it is not known. They both know it. And to   
simplify the translation, Zack told Toltiar he was going to kill him. And   
Zack is one of the few who could (if only because of his sword).  
  
------  
  
  
Ranma frowned as he follows Genma. "Stupid father. He dragged me away   
from my fight with Ryoga. And He STOLE you. Now Ryoga will take ages to   
find me."  
He looks at the little, Simi-transparent girl sitting on a blue disk   
strapped to his right shoulder.  
  
"Yhea. Sucks wind. Ryoga will think you skipped the dual and chase you   
down. May take him weeks to do it, but he will." The girl stands. "Looks   
like your father has found the place. Jusenkyo. Strange name for a   
training ground. And something about it rings with my wires." the girl   
frowns, then winks out.  
  
Genma turns to look at Ranma. "Ready boy?" Genma says a slight scoff at the   
boy for being so attached to the piece of junk! Wouldn't even let him near   
it. Leaping to the top of one of the bamboo poles sticking out of the pools   
that dotted the valley floor, he looks to Ranma.  
  
"Any time, pops." Ranma follows his old man onto the poles, just as the   
Guide exits his cabin near by and spots the two..  
  
The two leap, exchanging a furry of kicks and punches. Leaping from the   
poles, and then bouncing off each other to land on another of the poles.  
  
  
Then Ranma manages to get a good kick into Genma, just as the guide arrives.   
The two watch as Genma arcs out over the pools, and lands with a splash.  
  
The guide shakes his head and holds up a sign. "Very bad. Fall in spring   
of drowned panda." Genma-panda leaps out of the spring and lands on the   
pole across from Ranma. "Now whoever falls in spring takes body of a   
panda."  
  
"WHAT THE HELL!" Ranma stares at the panda, just as it lands a side kick   
into Ranma. He goes flying.  
  
And she soars, the little girl winks back on. "Ranma! We-"she starts to say,   
then notices the incoming water. "- oh dear."  
  
*splash*  
  
Moments later, two bodies surface. One is a red head girl dressed in the   
same Gi that Ranma was wearing. The other was the girl on Ranma's shoulder.   
Except she is full sized. And Real.  
  
"Oh Dear, you fall in spring of drowned girl. Who ever falls in takes body   
of a young girl. Though spring has never caused a girl to spontaneously   
appear." The guide says.  
  
Ranma Just looks at the girl across from her. "You're real. Navi! You're   
real!"  
  
Navi looks down at her body. "I am... and you're a girl Ranma."  
  
Ranma blinks. "Huh?" She looks down. "AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"  
  
  
Navi smiles. "The panda is Genma. He caused this." Ranma stops   
screaming. Then glares at the panda. It EAPS. And runs off. Ranma   
follows.  
  
Navi smiles at this. "That should reduce the shock some." She pulls herself   
from the spring. Turning to the guide, she asks. "Ah, you seem to know   
about these springs. My data on them is a little spotty, so could you help   
me out a bit?"  
  
The guide nods and Navi fallows him back the cabin.  
  
----------  
Hermes looks at the young boy across the well. "who is she?" He asks,   
pointing at Navi.  
  
"Ah, she is a creation of Ryoga's father, based partially on Ryoga's mother.   
She is the Navigation Array with Visual Instrumentation. Or N.A.V.I. for   
short. She was created to partially cancel out Ryoga's lack of a direction   
sense. She is fully intelligent, and has a soul, hence the curse   
affecting her." Zack smiles. And before you ask, Ryoga's mother was Ifurita   
of El-hazard. That was the fusion.  
  
Toltiar smiles. "So Now Ryoga can find his way to place better as long as   
he is wearing her, and has a learning curve Equal, if not surpassing   
Ranma's. This causes the two to encounter each other more and to fight   
more often with Greater power, eventually reaching GODLIKE levels." Toltiar   
breaks out into a full blown Grin. "Brilliant."  
  
Zack grins also. "Plus, with the Yaggrisal Line I fused in about 3 yeas   
after this point. It gets a lot more interesting when 6Year old Keichii   
Hibiki and his Navi, Megami, encounter the young goddess Belldandy.  
  
Toltiar and Zack start to laugh. The other gods look at them warily.  
  
Eventually, the stop and Zack looks at Toltiar. "This was fun, but he did   
call me. I must be off. I'll stop by next time I'm in the area."  
  
Toltiar just grins as Zack walks away. He then turns around and goes to find   
something else to amuse him.  
  
---------------  
  
  
OOC: okay, that's the end of that. Basic over view.  
  
Ryoga is Ifurita's Daughter. That means he has some of his mothers ability   
to learn moves just by experiencing them. But not as fast as his mother.   
Follows Ranma to the springs. Falls in piglet spring. Navi rescues him   
and is reunited. Also smarter and more social due to more time in school.  
  
Navi is Ryoga's Guidance system. Based of some what off the   
technology/magic that created Ifurita. She got dunked in the spring of   
drowned girl along with Ranma. Now she is not just a machine, but a Real   
person. This is good, but causes some problems. (No feminine modesty,   
dose not knows certain basic human functions) she also tends to act a   
diplomat when with Ryoga and Ranma. Defusing things with words.  
  
Ranma is pretty much the same, though he is slightly stronger then the base   
line. His ability to adapt moves and learn them almost as fast as Ryoga   
puts him in the same league as Ryoga. Dose better in school, if only to   
one up Ryoga.  
  
Ranma-Ryoga: the two are friends. But they still fight a lot. And they   
get a lot better by the series end due to this. At least a magnitude above   
what it was in the base.  
  
Now, I'm going to try and put as many additional scenes in before I have to   
post this. Enjoy!  
Love interest: in order of probability. I really haven't decided who will   
end up with whom. Just NO Akane-Ranma.  
Ranma: Kasumi, Navi, Nibiki, Ukyo.  
Ryoga: Nibiki, Akane, Ukyo.  
Navi: Ranma, Mu Tsu, Taro.  
  
-------------------  
  
Scene: Amazon village.  
  
Ranma cursed as she followed her father and the guide. She looked over at   
Navi. Then looked away blushing. Turning her eyes forward then looked at   
the huts arrayed across the clearing. Her eyes becoming drawn to the log set   
up in the middle of the village.  
  
"Welcome sirs, this is the Amazon village of Jostusku. May tough fighters.   
Many-"the guide says... Ranma tunes him quickly out.  
  
She glances over her shoulder. Carefully trying not to look at Navi. "Hey,   
Ryoga. Take a look. A tournament. I wonder if they'll let me compete in   
it."  
  
Ryoga looks at Ranma. "Actually, I would be more worried about your father."   
He says pointing at Genma-panda, who is currently scarffing down some food   
off a nearby table. Ryoga walks over to Genma-panda and tries to pull him   
off the table.  
  
"And that Sign says it's supposed to go to the champion of this tournament."   
Navi says as she frowns.  
  
A Purpled hair girl walks up to the three and starts yelling at him in   
Mandarin.   
  
"AH! Sir! The girl just claimed the panda as her prize!" The guide says.   
Ryoga meanwhile had managed to get one of  
  
Ranma looks at the guide. "Stupid Oji! I can't just let him become   
someone's pet. I owe him that much. Hey, if I fight her and win, then I   
become champion, and then that food would be mined right? Then it would be   
okay?"  
  
Navi narrows her eyes. "I think that might work." ~good thing I had dad   
install those formal protocols last update.~ she steps between the purple   
haired girl and Ranma. I am sorry for my friend's father's behavior, and   
nothing can be done to bring the food back. But my Friend wishes you to   
challenge you for the food. Navi ponders something for a moment.   
  
the purple haired girl replies. . She walks off toward   
the challenge log in the center of the village.  
  
An old woman on top of a staff watched this conversation with interest.  
  
Navi smiled as several of the Amazons went to help Ryoga. The   
looked at Ranma. "Okay Ranma, she agreed. First one to be knocked off   
wins." She smiled.  
  
Ranma pushed and quickly climbed onto the challenge log. Need less to say,   
Ranma won. Quickly... as she hoped down off the log to help the girl up,   
the girl rose, then kissed Ranma on the cheek.  
  
Navi grimaced as she heard the others talk about Kiss of death, or   
something. She glared at the purple haired girl. Navi said as she   
approached the girl. The purple haired looked ad Navi and swing one of her   
bomberie to knock her out.  
  
Navi calmly caught it with on had with a wince, and spoke a single word.   
[Taser]. Suddenly, 20,000 volts arced through the bomberie into shampoo.   
Navi just looked down at the girl. "Ranma, this girl has now pledged to   
kill you."  
  
Ranma pales. "I don't. I can... Let's just get out of her Navi?" he says,   
and stars walking toward the edge of the village. Navi follows, and so dose   
Genma, Ryoga starts to, but gets lost.  
  
By the time Shampoo recovers, the four are long gone.  
---------  
OOC: okay, some what OOC, but well within the limit of Shampoo's   
personality..  
  
Of course, she now has Ku Lon Very mad at her and is probly going to force   
her to find these two and apologize (along with other punishments). (thanks   
to Cute Kitsune Kaydee for pointing this out.  
  
---------  
Scene Keiichi meets Belldandy.  
  
Keiichi frowned. "Are you sure it's not that way?" He asks.  
  
The hologram of the young girl sitting on his shoulder smiles. "No, no. You   
have to go THAT way to get home." She points in the opposite direction   
Keiichi is pointing.  
  
"Oh." He turns to face the way home, when he noticed a Beam of light   
appearing in a nearby Clearing. "I wonder what that is." He asks. And   
starts to walk toward it.  
  
Megumi Sighs. "It's hopeless sometimes." she says. Then looks ahead. Soon,   
the two enter the clearing and notice a young girl the same age as Keiichi   
sitting on a log. A bird is perched on her hand. Megami Giggles. Startling   
the girl.  
  
"Oh! I'm sorry we disturbed you." Keiichi says, smiling. But I kinda got   
lost and noticed something over here and came to take a look."  
  
Bell Smiles. "You saw the light. That must mean you're a friend of Gaia!"   
She walks over and extends a hand. "I'm Belldandy. Want to be friends?"   
She asks.  
  
"Sure! I'm Keiichi." Keiichi says with a smile, and shaking her hand.  
  
Megami rolls her eyes. "And I am Megami. Now I'm sorry to interrupt   
Keiichi, but we have to get going if were going to get home in time for   
dinner."  
  
Keiichi EEPS. "Don't want to get mom mad… HEY!" He smiles at bell. "Would   
you like to come over and have dinner at our house?" He asks.  
  
"Sure, I would love to!" Bell replies.  
  
"Good, good, let's go. Bell, you grab his hand and lead the way, I'll   
provide instructions." Megami says, a little impatient.  
  
Bell looks at the hologram curiously. "Why?"  
  
"Well, Keiichi here gets lost easily." Megami says, causing Keiichi to   
blush.  
  
"Oh." And with that, bell takes Keiichi's hand and they were off. 


	6. Lone Dragon

Subj:A Second Bet Entry   
Date:2/23/02 8:36:33 AM Central Standard Time  
From:tannim_murphy@yahoo.com  
To:FlashFyre5@aol.com  
Sent from the Internet (Details)  
  
  
  
(Sorry, I couldn't find the program to turn everything  
into text. ^_^)  
  
Lone Dragon  
  
Chapter One: The Fight, part one! Terry vs. Ranma in  
a dual to the death! ...or not  
  
Disclaimer: Neither of these series belongs to me.   
They each belong to their respective owners. I am  
NOT, repeat, NOT making money off of this. WARNING:   
There is some swearing in this fic.  
  
The original prologue was changed to be a part of  
chapter one for the bet entry.  
  
Timeline: This is just after Terry's run-in with  
Krauser. Altverse fight with Saffron, Akane dies.  
  
Submitted by Tannim, God of Cannon Fodder and Small  
Furry Creatures.  
  
---  
  
The bar itself looked pathetically empty. One man,  
just out of boyhood, sat on a stool in front of a  
bartender who was idly cleaning a glass. The young  
man was wearing Chinese clothing, and in front of him  
were several emptied shot glasses clustered together.   
There might have been two or three other patrons  
scattered about in the black recesses of the bar, but  
it was hard to discern in the dim lighting.  
  
The door slowly opened to reveal a strong-looking man.  
He wore blue jeans and an orange cut-off jacket. The  
front of his cap was covered by a metal plate, and he  
was carrying with him a duffle bag.  
  
The man slowly made his way toward the bar, pain  
etched on his features. The kind of pain that was  
worse than anything physical. The kind that cut  
deeply into one's soul.  
  
The new man sat down next to the young man already  
there, slowly dropping the duffle bag to the floor.  
  
"I'll have double whatever he's having," said Terry as  
he motioned toward the young man next to him.  
  
Ranma slowly looked up from the glass in his hands.   
On his face was the same kind of pain etched on  
Terry's face, slightly blurred with alcohol. The two  
men looked at one other for a moment, first with their  
eyes, then with other senses. After a moment, Ranma  
nodded to himself once before looking back at the  
glass in his hands. He downed the drink in a single  
gulp.  
  
"Ya look like yer in pain," offered Ranma.  
  
"Yep," was Terry's stoic reply.  
  
"Lost loved one?"  
  
"Yep."  
  
"Same here."  
  
The two sat for a few moments in compatible silence.   
The bartender put down a glass in front of Terry.  
  
"Some people might say you're too young to drink,"  
noted Terry.  
  
"That's what the bouncer thought," said Ranma.  
  
Terry nodded to himself. It explained why the large  
man at the door was doing his best to imitate a  
pretzel.  
  
A few more moments of silence passed between them  
while Terry took a generous sip of the brew in front  
of him.  
  
"Name's Ranma."  
  
"Terry."  
  
Finally, Ranma couldn't bear it any longer. The  
chance to talk to someone about the pain he felt was  
too good an opportunity to pass up. The alcohol might  
have affected his judgment somewhat, but that didn't  
matter to him at the moment. Before he could open his  
mouth to speak, the door banged open with a large  
crash.  
  
Terry and Ranma glanced out of the sides of their eyes  
to see who disturbed their drinks. It seemed that a  
large group of punks wearing biker clothing were  
streaming through the door. Most we grinning, showing  
missing teeth, and many were chuckling to themselves.  
  
Ranma frowned irritably at the empty glasses in front  
of him. "Every fucking time..." he muttered to  
himself.  
  
Terry glanced inquisitively at Ranma. "This happen  
often?"  
  
Ranma nodded sullenly. "Every time I get a good buzz  
goin', some smart-ass punk, or some shit-faced ganger  
wants to pick a fight, and I gotta burn the alcohol  
outta my system so I can fight." Ranma continued to  
mutter to himself. "I swear, I'd learn Drunken Boxing  
if I thought I would be able to hold myself back from  
killing the assholes. Fifth time this week, the  
pricks. I hate being a trouble magnet."  
  
"Nice trick," noted Terry.  
  
"My 'father' taught it to me." Ranma spat out the  
word with the kind of venom that only the very drunk  
can muster. "That panda is a lazy, no-good drunken  
coward of a martial artist, but no matter how much he  
liked to drink, he always wanted a way to sober up if  
he had a serious fight on him. He liked livin' more  
than drinkin'," ranted Ranma.  
  
By now, the entire cluster of gang members had  
surrounded the two men in a wide semi-circle.  
  
Ranma began to glow with a soft blue light, visible  
even to the untrained eyes of the gangers.  
  
"Want help?" asked Terry offhandedly.  
  
"Nah. I'm already too sober as it is. I might as  
well let off some steam."  
  
One gang member, duller than the rest (though not by  
much, given the crowd) decided that he was going to  
speak.  
  
"Hey, you two prissy-boys wanna git outta our bar? We  
OWN this side of the streets."  
  
"Do you punks know who you're messin' with?" growled  
Ranma. He didn't even bother turning around.  
  
This made the thugs pause. The leader of the gang  
signaled for everyone to get in a huddle, and frantic  
whispered conversation could be heard.  
  
"...anyone know who he is...?"  
  
"...do we NEED to know...?"  
  
"...I'm hungry..."  
  
"...shaddap Chojiro, you're ALWAYS hungry..."  
  
"...I say we pound 'em to show 'em we don't care..."  
  
"...sounds like a plan..."  
  
The leader straightened up to give his retort, but the  
words died on his lips. On front of him was standing  
a now blazing Ranma. The bluish fire danced at a  
distance of three feet in all directions from his  
body, slightly scorching the leather on the stool  
closest to him.  
  
Ranma absently cracked his knuckles as he evaluated  
the fighting skills of the hoodlums.  
  
Danger rating: Laughable.  
  
"The name's Ranma Saotome."  
  
There were many gasps and noises of surprise.  
  
"Ranma the Bandit Killer?!"  
  
Ranma paused for a moment, and tilted his head a bit.   
"How did I get stuck with that name anyway? I never  
killed anyone, and I haven't fought any 'bandits.'"  
  
"Most of the gangs around here are closet Slayers  
fans," spoke a voice from the back.  
  
"Oh," said Ranma.  
  
"We'll be going now," said the leader. He looked very  
nervous as he started edging toward the exit.  
  
Ranma disappeared from view, only to appear in front  
of the door.  
  
"I don't think so."  
  
The ensuing chaos lasted exactly 15.35 seconds, and  
the only reason it was that long was simply because  
Ranma didn't want to pay for broken furniture.  
  
Ranma sighed as he sat down at the bar. "I hate these  
kinds of fights. They don't even give me a good  
workout."  
  
Terry raised an eyebrow in the direction of Ranma.   
"Hard finding someone decent to spar with?"  
  
Ranma smirked in Terry's direction. "You offerin'?"  
  
Terry considered his glass. "Why not?" he mused to  
himself. He put the mostly full drink down on the bar  
before grabbing his duffle bag and moving to exit.  
  
Ranma grinned as he followed.  
  
---  
  
Each fighter eyed their respective opponent as they  
both made their way toward a shockingly convenient  
abandoned warehouse.  
  
Strange how these things always seemed to be around  
when you need to fight a one on one match with  
someone.  
  
What Ranma saw was enough to peak the pig-tailed  
martial artist's interest. Strong muscle definition,  
but not 'too' much muscle to slow a person down to the  
point of irrelevance. A very healthy ki signature was  
prevalent, as he had sensed upon Terry's first  
arrival. However, now that he was sober, Ranma was  
able to appreciate the residual energies of foreign ki  
inside Terry's body. It felt as if Terry was used to  
the rigors of drawing in chi from some source and  
using it to boost his attacks to a phenomenal level  
not normally available to someone without burning  
themselves out. Ranma was currently attempting to  
formulate his own abilities in this manner, but had  
been so far unsuccessful. Perhaps in this fight Terry  
would reveal to him some sort of secret that he could  
use to his advantage.  
  
One of the greatest maneuvers a true martial arts  
master could perform was the ability to pull ambient  
chi out from his environment and convert that energy  
to something the fighter could use. This 'natural  
chi' energy was, ironically, naturally resistant to  
attempts to convert itself into something that could  
be stored in one's own ki reserves; even if one were  
to convert the energy, the 'natural chi' would be  
constantly fighting to resume its natural form. It  
took great will and strength to simply build up enough  
converted energy quickly and then release it for an  
attack before it had a chance to revert back to its  
natural state. All in all, while a fighter sometimes  
had to depend on ambient chi to power his own personal  
ki most of the time, the power tradeoff was more than  
worth it in many respects. Mostly, it was finding a  
source to pull chi from that you were attuned with;  
for example, Happosai was somehow able to absorb  
perverted chi from the ambient area.  
  
For all of his confidence, for all of his martial arts  
moves he had learned, for all his personal power, he  
still failed to save... Her. He was forced to face  
the harsh reality that he had simply been too arrogant  
and too sure of his knowledge in the martial arts.  
  
That would never happen again, Ranma vowed. He would  
learn as much as he could to protect those weaker than  
himself. He'd become more skillful, and more powerful  
than ever before.  
  
Luck was with him. Here was an opponent that might  
help him achieve his goal.  
  
---  
  
Terry was looking appraisingly at Ranma. The boy was  
fast; even with his trained senses, all he could  
distinguish from Ranma's short fight were blurred  
features. The young man didn't look too strong, but  
Terry had felt pulses of ki constantly augmenting  
Ranma's speed and strength. The young man had  
phenomenal control over his ki reserves, though not as  
large as his own. Even through the speed of Ranma's  
movements, it was obvious the young man employed a  
flashy yet effective style, flowing from one form to  
the next with no obvious transitions. The boy's ki  
was used to its maximum potential, and seemed to flow  
through his body like a well-oiled machine; a definite  
sign of someone in harmony with the environment around  
them.  
  
Terry was still suffering the pain from losing...   
Her. The agony of loss was only slightly mollified by  
the small satisfaction due to the fact that he  
delivered retribution to Krauser himself. Stronger is  
what he needed to become. Stronger he would be. But  
maybe, just maybe, this stranger could teach him to be  
faster as well. Maybe if he was just a bit faster...  
  
---  
  
The two combatants faced each other across the barren  
floor. A small piece of paper dramatically drifted  
between the two warriors as they stared unmoving  
across the abyss.  
  
Okay, so the abyss was a small crack in the floor.   
But it 'seemed' like a very long distance. And that's  
what really counted.  
  
Terry made the first move, drawing himself up into a  
defensive stance. Ranma slowly lowered himself into  
an attacking position. The two combatants stared  
unmoving a moment more, each trying to predict what  
the combatant across from them was planning to do.  
  
Terry had given up all hope at attempting to match  
Ranma's speed. He was settling in, hoping to weather  
the storm and perhaps get in a good shot or twenty.   
Unbidden, words popped into his mind: "Can you feel  
the storm? It's coming."  
  
For Ranma, he vowed to use pure skill. No augmenting  
his speed or strength. He wanted this to be a pure  
fight. Not that in his life he's ever had many of  
those. Mostly, he'd been using all his abilities to  
survive being constantly ambushed by his enemies.  
  
Unless, of course, the blonde-haired martial artist  
decided to break out his special moves. Then all bets  
were off.  
  
The pig-tailed martial artist made the next move; not  
so much as moving to attack as flowing from standing  
still to charging motion. It was so fluent there was  
no discernable lapse between the two.  
  
Terry idly noted he couldn't feel any ki being used to  
make Ranma move faster. Yet, even so, the pig-tailed  
martial artist was 'still' fast; almost faster than he  
could react.  
  
But he could react. Just in time, too.   
  
A devastating blow to the chest was deflected with a  
swift forearm block. A kick almost completely hidden  
by the attack bounced harmlessly off a shin instead of  
damaging ribs. A punch to the face- no, a feint! A  
fist slipped past the staunch defenses to glance off a  
shoulder.  
  
Lighting fast attacks met solid defense, as Terry  
weathered the storm of blows.  
  
An opening! The blond-haired man threw a deceptively  
slow punch to Ranma's midriff, throwing off the  
younger man's timing.  
  
He followed it up with a swift kick to the shin that  
connected, and another punch to the kidneys that was  
blocked.  
  
Now Terry was on the offensive.  
  
While Ranma was fast, and could block just about  
anything thrown at him, his recent battles had not  
much experience dealing with an opponent that stayed  
on the ground all the time. And the ground was  
Terry's turf.  
  
A block turned counter-move as Terry continued his  
assault. His attacks and occasional kicks were  
designed to throw off Ranma's ability to regroup more  
than do any serious damage. Terry kept his kicks low;  
quick to get off and back into a ready position.  
  
Ranma was adapting, however. Slowly but surely, he  
was discovering his rhythm. In most of his fights  
he'd be jumping around like a demented grasshopper by  
now, and it was kind of refreshing to simply fight in  
close-quarters without damaging the surrounding area  
too much.  
  
It was an uphill battle for Ranma, though. Terry had  
the advantage, and was holding onto it with every  
trick he had gained in his long years of experience.   
The two battled it out, slowly making their way across  
the warehouse.  
  
Terry eventually caught Ranma's leg after a  
particularly high kick. He smiled slightly as he used  
the leverage to move his opponent into the position he  
wanted. While Ranma was still off-balance, he managed  
to get a very hard kick to the pig-tailed martial  
artist's kidneys. It didn't even slow Ranma down as  
he broke the hold.   
  
The black-haired martial artist was hurting, though.  
  
Terry had more un-enhanced strength than Ranma did,  
and it was showing in this battle. Even a quick kick  
by Terry had the weight equivalent of a sizable ball  
of lead behind it. That last kick was backed by all  
the strength the blonde-haired martial artist could  
muster, and it took its toll on the younger man.  
  
Terry noted this and, like any good veteran, took  
advantage of the situation. He exploited Ranma's weak  
side as much as he dared, while trying to avoid  
setting himself into a pattern.  
  
The battle continued for a few more moments, both  
sides warring for dominance.  
  
Without warning, both combatants leapt back from one  
another. Ranma was panting heavily, wincing at deep  
breaths. Terry only had a slight sheen of  
perspiration to show his exertion.  
  
Afterward, neither contestant could say when the  
signal had been given. Simply that a silent agreement  
came between the two, and the 'kid gloves' came off.  
  
The real fighting had begun.  
  
---  
  
End of Chapter One!  
  
Author's Notes: The fight scene is a lot harder to  
write than anticipated. I don't even know if I did  
the vision in my head justice. It's coming very  
slowly, and I was forced to end it here for various  
reasons. (That and it was the best possible spot for  
a cliffhanger.) If I get enough encouragement, I'll  
continue with it... Heck. Who am I kidding? I love  
this enough to continue it even if I get a bunch of  
flames. ^_^  
  
Here's the original idea, based on a thought:  
  
Ranma and Terry are drinking.  
  
One turns to the other (it doesn't matter who) and  
says, "I defeated a demi-god, and still lost the girl  
I loved. You?"  
  
"The exact same thing happened to me."  
  
"Horrible world we live in."  
  
"You don't have to tell me twice."  
  
Pause.  
  
"I bet my god was stronger than your god."  
  
"Fight ya for it?"  
  
"You're on."  
  
  
=====  
-Tannim Murphy  
(No, not THE Tannim, the OTHER Tannim)  
  
"Writers who take more time trying to spell than write are editors." -Unknown  
  
My Fics: http://www.fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=126066  
  
__________________________________________________  
Do You Yahoo!?  
Yahoo! Sports - Coverage of the 2002 Olympic Games  
http://sports.yahoo.com 


	7. Ranma in the Magnificent World

Second Bet - Reilynn's Entry:  
Ranma in the Magnificent World  
A Ranma 1/2 fanfict by Tangent   
DISCLAIMER: 'Ranma 1/2' and all characters therein   
belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Shogagukan, Kitty, and   
Viz Video. El Hazard belongs to whomever it belongs to.   
This fanfict has been produced for my own enjoyment and   
to pass on without profit. Other characters that come into   
play in this fanfict may or may not be pulled from other   
sources (including other fanficts, RPGs, manga, anime,   
literature, or possibly even *GASP* American comic books!).   
A WORD FROM TANGENT: This story presumably   
takes place after the failed wedding between Ranma and   
Akane. On the El Hazard side, the second demon god had   
just been dealt with, and Mr. Masamichi Fujisawa and   
Miz Mishtal had finally gotten married. And now for something   
a little different...   
PRELUDE I: Mimer's Well   
Toltiir and Great Fox (or, as Toltiir insisted he be called   
during the second bet, Foxy) watched as the newcomer   
approached them at Mimer's well. She had a human aspect,   
appearing as an adult woman with short, raven-black hair and   
eyes as blue as sapphires. Her attire was gloriously mismatched   
in such a way that it seemed entirely appropriate for her to be   
wearing it that way. A leather sandal with blue ribbon straps and   
a ruby set near the gap between the big toe and the rest graced   
her right foot, while a red boot with an opal set in it adorned her left.   
On her left thigh rode a golden garter festooned with a red ribbon.   
Her belt was a jumble, half blue stained leather with gold trim and   
silver inlays, and half metal chain of gold, copper and bronze discs   
arranged in no particular order. A blue silken panel descended from   
the emerald clasp, wrapping around her right leg and between her   
legs to attach to the buckle once again. A milti-color woven band   
draped from the buckle to the left, clipping to the panel in the back   
so that the incidental modesty that it provided wasn't as random as   
it seemed. She wore a blue leather glove set with a carbuncle on   
her right hand, and a multi-color bracer with gold and brass trim on   
her left forearm. Her final piece of attire (if you could call it that) was   
a green silken scarf draped around her neck and across her right   
breast, one end continuing behind her back until both joined at a   
large brass ring dangling before her navel.  
On her left breast, which was bare, was her goddess marking.   
A stylized question mark, or possibly a flying serpent, all in   
incandescent blue.  
"Let me guess," Toltiir remarked (choosing to appear as a   
black cat - one of his current favorite forms). "You're a Chaos   
Goddess from one of the outlying realms in the Kami-plane, right?"  
"Reilynn d'Acun'Bas'Imyth, Daughter of Chaos, and Goddess   
of Mischief, Magic, and Mayhem at your service, uncle Toltiir!" the   
self-proclaimed magami beamed.  
Foxy sweatdropped. "Uncle?"  
"Don't let it bother you, Foxy," Toltiir chided. "Acun'Bas'Imyth   
was an Old One. Any child of his would be considered a relative   
of mine." Toltiir then addressed Reilynn, "Although cousins   
would be a better term. So... What brings an Elder Goddess   
from the boonies anyway?"  
"I'm not that old anymore," Reilynn corrected. "I've reformatted   
a couple of times since father went to sleep. This incarnation isn't   
much older than twenty thousand years of age."  
"And your point is?" Toltiir asked, smirking. Some of the wilder   
Elders were like that - choosing to break up the monotony of their   
nearly endless existence by breaking their span into discrete   
segments. He had contemplated doing so himself from time to   
time, but had never been that bored himself.  
"Well, I heard about your first bet too late to make an entry   
for it, so I thought that I'd give this one a go."  
"So you're here to make an entry then." Toltiir stepped aside   
and indicated the well.  
"And so I am," agreed Reilynn, who then dropped a jade puzzle   
ball into the well. Promptly, the well focused on the image of a   
huge structure floating high in the sky of El Hazzard, which the   
locals called the Eye of God. The puzzle ball appeared above it,   
tiny by comparison, and thus unnoticed by anyone there. It fell and   
struck the Eye of God, breaking into its component pieces and   
releasing a tremendous amount of divine energy...   
PRELUDE II: Sudden Loss...  
  
Genma was just finishing up his shift at Dr. Tofu's clinic   
when Kasumi ran in the front door. Her cheeks were running   
with tears and she seemed to be in a panic. She rushed into   
his arms and sobbed into his shoulder.  
"Mr. Saotome!" she cried. "It's terrible! The house...the   
dojo... their gone! My father... sobsobsobgasp 


	8. My Two Dads

My Two Dads  
2nd Bet fic   
by Foxgrad  
  
  
Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 created by Rumiko Takahashi. Star Wars created by George Lucas. All other characters owned by their respective owners.  
  
  
***Mimir's Well***  
  
  
"Artoo, you have caused quite enough trouble!. No more Bet entries for you!"  
Toltiir and Foxie watched as the tall protocol droid and his astromech counterpart struggled next to Mimir's Well. Artoo was trying to make another entry, but Threepio wouldn't stand for it.   
"Hey, Foxie, if they keep this up we may end up with another random entry."  
"You saying that's a bad thing?"  
"Nope!" replied Toltiir. "Looks like Artoo is trying to make Ranma a Jedi."  
"That's been done before."  
"Yeah. If Threepio throws off his aim, we could wind up with something new, though."  
"Ranma the pilot of the Millennium Falcon? Ranma the swoopie? Ranma the non-Jedi son of Luke Skywalker's aunt and uncle? Ranma the Wookiee? Hmmm. That last one has possibilities."  
Foxie turned a leery eye on his old friend. Sometimes Toltiir's talent for the absurd frightened even him.  
"AAAAAHHHHH!!! Watch it, you clumsy fool!"  
Toltiir and Foxie turned forward just in time to see Threepio and Artoo tumble into Mimir's Well. They quickly rushed to the rim to see what had happened.   
"Where did they wind up?"  
"Looks like a Ranma timeline. Dark one, too. Genma trains Ranma in the Neko-ken, Ranma winds up tearing him to pieces, he runs amok and finally has to be gunned down by the cops. On the plus side, one of the cops that had to shoot him becomes a social worker and does great things for a lot of kids."  
"Where did they wind up?"  
"Looks like they show up just in the nick of time."  
  
  
  
***Japan, ten years ago***  
  
  
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" cried Threepio as he fell through time and space. Suddenly, he and Artoo made the transition to realspace and hit the ground, hard.  
"Oooohhh, my aching diodes," complained Threepio. He sat up and took a look around. "Artoo! Artoo, where are you, you rusting pile of bolts!"  
A few chirps and a whistle answered the question. Threepio looked over to his right to see his counterpart lying on top of a large man in a dirty white gi. Threepio got up and hurried over to help pull Artoo off the human.  
"Where are we, who is this man, is he alright, are we going to be stuck here, oh, what have you gotten me into this time?"  
Artoo turned and scanned the human he had landed on. It appeared he was alright, just unconscious. A quick scan of his surroundings revealed....  
Artoo's startled bleep and whistles drew Threepio's attention to a pit in the middle of the room.  
"Artoo, are you sure there is someone down there? It's so dark."  
The astromech used his holopoj to shine a light down into the pit. Threepio peered down into the darkness and was finally able to make out a small form buried under a writhing mass of furry life forms.  
"Oh, my! We must help the poor creature. Quickly, Artoo, hold the end of this rope. I'll throw the other end down there." Threepio dangled one end of the rope down into the pit. "Hello! Hello! Quickly, you must grab on to this rope. We'll pull you out!"  
A small, blood-smeared hand reached up above the snarling, mewling mass of animals and clutched at the rope. As soon as his hand clasped the rope the two droids holding it began to to back up. Soon, a small, scratched, bitten, blood-smeared human child emerged from the lip of the pit. As soon as he was safely on the floor he let go of the rope and passed out.  
  
  
***Mimir's Well***  
  
  
"So they interrupted the Neko-ken training just before Ranma went over the edge."  
"Yep. The kid still has a lot of mental trauma, though. Looks like he's not going to emerge from this unscathed."  
  
  
  
***Japan, a few minutes later***  
  
  
Threepio carried the child out of the bare room and into the sunlight. Artoo followed, beeping and whistling.  
"This is all your fault. You just had to play with that Well. I told you to stop, but you wouldn't listen. You never listen to me. Now we're stuck on some strange planet with a strange child and who knows what we're going to do?"  
"Uuunnnnn."  
"The child is waking up! Quickly, Artoo, help me find someplace to put him down."  
They quickly placed him down in the shade of a wall. Artoo scooted over and bent over the small, still form.  
The boy moaned again. He slowly opened his eyes and stared at the two droids. "Who...?"  
Threepio, having picked up some Japanese watching Ranma timelines in Mimir's Well, replied, "I am See-Threepio, human-cyborg relations. This is my counter-part, Artoo-Detoo. We are strangers to your world. Could you tell us where we are?"  
The boy licked his lips and tried again. "Who...am I?"  
  
  
  
***Mimir's Well***  
  
  
"Amnesia?"  
"Could be worse."  
  
  
***Back in Japan***  
  
  
"Artoo, could you have possibly bungled things any worse? Thanks to you we're stuck on some primitive planet who knows how far from home. All because you had to mess with that Well. Just look at these primitive devices these humans use. There probably isn't a droid maintenance facility anywhere on this planet. Why, I have half a mind to...."  
Artoo tuned out his counter-part, a skill he had picked up early in their partnership. He was scanning the area, looking for anything that looked like a spaceport or a interplanetary communications facility. So far, no luck. However, he had noticed something. He whistled an inquiry to Threepio.  
"What? Behind us?" Threepio looked behind them to see a small figure following about a half a block behind. "The child we rescued from the pit? Why is he following us? Well, I suppose we couldn't have very well left him behind with that man you knocked unconscious. He must have been the one who threw him into that dreadful place."  
Artoo turned around and moved closer to the boy. He saw the droid coming and ducked behind a telephone pole. Artoo moved in what he hoped was a non-threatening manner and drew closer to the boy.  
"Artoo, what are you doing? We have to find a way to communicate with home."  
Artoo turned his head and chirped a reply.  
"Take him with us? Have you gone mad? We should find some humans to take care of him. What do we know about taking care of a human child?"  
Artoo ignored Threepio and moved closer to the boy. The child nervously stood there looking at the droid, then put one hand on top of the droid. Artoo hooted encouragingly. The boy began to smile.  
  
  
***Mimir's Well***  
  
  
"So what happens?"  
"Let's see. Threepio and Artoo take Ranma in and name him Luciantric. Threepio picked the name. Everyone calls him 'Lucky,' though. He learns about hyper-drive engines and spaceships from Artoo, and Threepio manages to teach him enough manners so that he can behave himself when he has to. They have quite a few adventures keeping various governments and corporations from abducting the droids and taking them apart to see how they work. Eventually the droids need maintenance, though. That's when Ranma tracks down a young genius by the name of Gina Diggers. She becomes friends with them and keeps the droids in tip-top condition. Hmm, possible romance angle here. Eventually, 'Lucky' and Gina manage to figure out a way to return the droids to the Solos. Ranma meets the Jedi, gets to pilot an X-wing, and has more adventures.   
"Not bad for an accidental entry. Looks like Han Solo's daughter might have a thing for Ranma here."  
"Looks like Gina found out about it. They're getting a little competitive."  
"Cat-fight?" asked Toltiir.  
"Not right away. Things are definitely getting more intense further down the timeline, though.  
  
  
  
Didn't intend this to be a serious entry, it's practically an omake. Just for fun. 


	9. Ranma Plantir

Ranma Palantir  
A 2nd Bet fic  
by Foxgrad  
  
Disclaimer: All Ranma 1/2 characters created by Rumiko Takahashi and published by Viz. All Lord of the Rings characters created by J.R.R. Tolkien and published by Ballantine Books.  
  
***Mimir's Well***  
  
  
"Hey, Foxie! Looks like we've got another customer!"  
Great Fox, known for the time being as "Foxie," winced slightly at the nickname but turned to look where his feline companion, Toltiir, was looking. Off in the distance a small form was wandering towards them. As it drew closer Toltiir stood in surprise.  
"Well, a hobbit! We don't see many of your kind around these parts."  
"Can't say I'm suprised, good sirs. We hobbits tend to stick close to home. Me, I'd gladly be back home. My adventuring days are long behind me. Still, there's something I've been itching to do for a while now, with you good sirs' permission. I understand this Well can let you see things, well, people I mean to say, once you get right down to it. See, there's someone I haven't seen for a long while, even before I passed on, and I was hoping, with your permission, of course, to check up on him."  
"Of course, of course, Mr. ?"  
"Oh, begging your pardon, sirs! Where are my manners at? The name's Samwise Gamgee. Pleased to meet you." Great Fox made a strange noise that sounded like a cross between a laugh and a cough. Toltiir arched an eyebrow, but turned his attention back to the hobbit. Introductions were quickly finished, and the conversation turned back to the subject at hand. "Well, good sirs, I was hoping you fine gentlemen," Great Fox made the same noise again, but slightly louder, "would be so kind as to let me use this Bet of yours to check up on a distinguished hobbit by the name of Frodo Baggins. I don't doubt he's just doing fine in the Undying Lands with Gandalf and Bilbo and the rest, but, well, I've been on the other side of life now for quite a long time now, and one gets to hearing things. When I was alive I thought there weren't nothing could bring trouble to the place where Frodo and the others went, but, well, like I said I've been hearing things. About people and things (nasty things, mind you) that could make a trip to the Undying Lands just as easy as they could step through a door. I'm sure everyone's fine with the likes of Gandalf and Galadriel there, but I'd just like to make sure, with your permission, of course."  
"Certainly, my fine hobbit. Of course, you'd have to enter the Bet. We let you use the Well, you provide us with a little entertainment. Fair's fair, after all."  
"Well, sirs, I'm not exactly what you'd call the gambling sort. Er... and to be perfectly honest I'm not too clear what sort of game you folks are playing here...."  
"That's easily fixed," replied Toltiir, a little too quickly. In short order he had explained the concept of the Second Bet and how it would work to the venerable hobbit. Great Fox knew his old friend was up to something, but held his tongue. After all, this could be quite entertaining.  
"So, if I don't win the Bet, this planar thing will disappear? Just as if I hadn't made an entry?"  
"That's right."  
"Ah, that's good. So, no matter how badly I muck things up, things will go back to the way they were just so long as I don't win the Bet. That's a relief, and no mistake. I'd hate to think how much trouble I could cause by messin' about with things like this. Since I'm sure there's no way a simple hobbit like myself could come up with anything more interesting than all these other fine folk, it won't make no difference, right?"  
"That's right. Now step up to the Well, and I'll teach you how it works."  
Several minutes later Sam was grinning from ear to ear. "Well, now, that's quite a relief. I was sure Frodo and the others were alright. I don't know why I was getting myself so worried over nothing. Well, a deal's a deal. Show me this Ranma fellow, and I'll drop my pebble, and I'll be on my way. Rosie's won't let me hear the end of this for days, but it was worth it."  
The reflection in the Well rippled, and the images inside it changed. Sam was quickly shown the highlights of the life of one Ranma Saotome. Sam's mood quickly went from jovial to shocked to enraged. The little hobbit was hopping up and down and sputtering incomplete sentences like, "I just can't....How could any father....the poor child, the poor child....that's just not....If I was there, I'd have....That won't solve....Don't...." Toltiir mercifully cut the show short before Sam had to witness Ranma's nightmarish marriage to Akane. The hobbit took a few minutes to calm himself down enough to speak rationally, but the anger shining in his eyes never dimmed. "I just can't believe anyone could be so cruel to his own son! If Strider had happened across that fool while he was torturing young Ranma with those 'training exercises' he'd have learned his lesson right quick! Or he'd be a head shorter! Of course, Ranma goes on to be just as much a fool as his old man, but that's hardly his fault. Every time Ranma tried to do something to better himself that fool of a father would put a stop to it. Imagine, punishing your son for doing well at school! And don't get me started on that pit full of cats. That was just plain cruel. I'll bet even Sauron never did anything like that!"  
"You could do something to stop it, you know. All it would take is a pebble."  
Sam turned towards Toltiir and blinked. "Yes, you're right. I hadn't planned on making a serious try in this Bet of yours, didn't even want to try to win. Now I suppose I'd better at least make an effort. It's better than doing nothing."  
Sam picked up a pebble and started pacing beside the well. He frowned in thought as he wracked his brain, trying to figure out a way to help Ranma. As he thought he began absent-mindedly tossing the pebble up and catching it. Toltiir watched the pebble like a hawk, waiting for just the right moment, waiting...waiting....  
Now!  
"ORCS!" he suddenly shouted. The results were everything he had hoped for. Sam jerked suddenly in surprise, and the pebble went sailing out of his hand. Up it sailed, up, up, until finally it made it's descent.  
Right into Mimir's Well.  
Sam tried to catch the pebble, but his arms were too short. The pebble plopped down right between the Ranma timeline and the one he had been looking at before.  
Toltiir raced up to the rim of the Well to see what his mischief had created. Sam was there, too, wringing his hands and hoping against hope that he hadn't made poor Ranma's life worse. He shot a quick glare at Toltiir, who pretended not to notice, but quickly turned his attention back to the Well.   
  
  
  
***Japan, ten years ago***  
  
  
A small boy covered in scratches and bite marks sat beside a stream. He sniffled quietly as he fought back the tears. He couldn't believe it! It just wasn't possible. How could his father have thrown him into that pit of cats over and over and over again? This last time had been the worst. The cats had long since stopped being afraid of him. They simply came at him, swarms of teeth and claws and horrible glowing eyes, all trying to get at the fish tied to his body. Then...then what had happened? One minute he was being ripped to shreds by a horde of hungry cats, then he was sitting on that nice neighbor lady's lap. He couldn't remember how he had gotten there. His father had said he'd started acting like a cat. That he had started acting crazy.  
Crazy.  
Ranma was young, but he knew what happened to crazy people. They got locked up. They'd lock him up forever if anybody found out about him. His father had told him so. He promised he wouldn't tell anybody Ranma was crazy, but he'd have to do exactly what Genma said so no one would find out.   
Ranma sniffled some more as he angrily tried to wash the fish smell off of himself in the stream. As he jammed one of his hands into the water, he touched something. It didn't feel like a rock, at least not like the kinds of rocks one found on stream beds. Curious, he reached back into the water and pulled the object out.  
It looked like some kind of fancy bowling ball to Ranma, except it had no holes. As he turned it this way and that in his hands, he could feel something inside the ball, some kind of power. He slowly stopped turning the ball over and over in his hands, and simply sat and stared into it. He didn't know how long he sat there just staring into his find, but suddenly something happened.  
The ball spoke to him.  
  
  
***The Undying Lands***  
  
  
Galadriel sat quietly beside the river, enjoying the soft breeze and the scent of the elanor blooms and listening to the elf songs in the distance. She enjoyed these moments of peace. She had had far too few of them back on Middle-Earth. As one of those who bore a Ring of Power, her life had been full of many things, but peace was not one of them. It was constant battle to remain in control of the ring, to not let it become her master as the human kings had done.   
That was all in the past now. Her people were forever safe from Sauron. They spent their days perfecting their skills of artistry and poetry, laughing, singing, telling tales, and performing feats of skill. Every day was filled with joy and fellowship.   
So why was Mithrandir hurrying toward her with a pensive look on his face?  
Galadriel rose to her feet and walked to meet her old friend. Mithrandir, known as Gandalf to the race of Men, quickly closed the gap between them. "Lady Galadriel," he said, "I must speak with you."  
"Of course, Mithrandir, say what you will."  
Gandalf grimaced slightly. "Actually, I also have something I must show you. Will you come with me?"  
Galadriel nodded and followed Gandalf back to his home. For all his deeds on Middle-Earth, he could have asked for a grand home, a palace, in fact. Instead, he lived in a small, modest dwelling built into the side of a hill. It was crammed full of books and papers, scrolls and parchments. Galadriel followed her old friend through the library and into what appeared to be a storage room. Gandalf turned and said, "I suppose I should have told you about this long ago, but, well, somehow I never got around to it." So saying, he touched a certain stone on the back wall of the room and quietly said a word of power. A secret door suddenly opened. It led into a larger room lit by torches. In the center of the room was a pedastel, and on the pedastel was....  
"A palantir!" gasped Galadriel. "What in the name of the Valinor are you doing with one?"  
Gandalf shrugged in an almost sheepish manner. "Keeping an eye on things in Middle-Earth," he replied. "I know my role there was to be the enemy of Sauron, but somehow I just couldn't let go of my old responsibilities. I stumbled across it just before we came here. Don't worry, it's not the one Sauron used. It's quite untainted. I'm sure by now even that palantir has become safe to use."  
Galadriel had her doubts as to the last, but trusted Gandalf to be wary enough to not have brought a palantir with him from Middle-Earth unless he was positive it was safe. "Why have you shown me this now?"  
Gandalf sighed and said, "Perhaps you should see for yourself."  
Galadriel stepped closer and peered into the globe. Suddenly she saw an image in its depths...the image of young boy.  
  
  
  
***Japan, later that day***  
  
Ranma sat just outside the light of the campfire. His father was snoring soundly, but he didn't want to take any chances. Genma refused to allow Ranma to do anything that would distract him from the Art. Ranma was sure talking to people with a magic ball would qualify. He sat with his back to where Genma was snoring away, and concentrated on the ball again. Slowly an image formed inside the ball, then suddenly snapped into focus. It was the Old Man again. Ranma struggled for a moment to remember his name, then it suddenly came to him. Gandalf. Ranma smiled into the ball and whispered, "Hi, Gandalf. It's me, Ranma."  
"Yes, of course it's you. I doubt two people would stumble upon a palantir in one day." The gruff face of the wizard softened slowly into a smile. "Have you thought about what I said?"  
"You mean about leaving Pop? I...I just don't know. I mean where can I go? What can I do?"  
"Well, I have a few thoughts about that. Don't worry, I won't abandon you. But the first thing you must decide is if you are going to stay with that fool of a father of yours or not."  
Ranma was silent for a moment. "I...I don't know. I mean, he promised he wouldn't throw me into any more pits full of cats."  
"Ranma, listen to me. I am genuinely afraid for your life. You told me that your father threw you into that pit not once, but many times. I can't begin to tell you how insanely dangerous that was, not to mention how cruel. And all because a book he read told him it would make you into an unbeatable fighter, even though the next page told him that the technique was dangerous and banned. I was watching him through my palantir when he read it. He barely even blinked. He acted like what he had done to you was of no real importance. You must get away from him before he does something like this again."  
Ranma shut his eyes as a few tears flowed down his cheeks. This was the hardest, most painful decision he had had to make in his young life. He thought back to the Neko-ken training, saw again in his mind's eyes the stern and compassionless expression on his father's face as he watched Ranma getting torn up by the hunger-crazed cats. He remembered how his father had berated him whenever he would pull him out of the pit and Ranma would have no super-powerful technique to show him. He remembered Genma's scorn every time Ranma displayed his every-increasing fear of cats. He remembered how Genma refused to show any remorse even after Ranma had finally cracked under the strain and gone temporarily mad. In fact, Genma had acted like Ranma had wronged him when he had attacked the fat fool in his maddened cat state. Ranma took a deep breath and looked again into the palantir. He slowly nodded.  
The face in the palantir shimmered and was replaced by another. "Galadriel!" exclaimed Ranma. He felt his cheeks grow a little red as he looked at the beautiful elf queen.   
Galadriel smiled at him and said, "I'm very proud of you, Ranma. Now, you must go quickly. When you are far enough away from your father, use the palantir to contact us again. We will give you directions to a safe place you can stay."  
Ranma nodded and set the palantir down. He crept back to his campsite and quietly collected his few meager belongings. Then he returned to the palantir, put it into his backpack, and took off into the night.   
  
  
Where to go from here? I'm sure the first place Gandalf will think to send him is to the dwarves. It would be interesting to see what had happened to them since the events of the Lord of the Rings. There may be other places Gandalf would think to send him. Perhaps some old place of power where there may be some sort of mystical protection for the boy. Perhaps there is an Ent or two in Japan.   
What would Ranma do? Since he has a palantir, the possibilities are wide open. A palantir will allow him to see anyplace on earth, and also into the past, so he may use it to hunt down escaped criminals for the reward. He may use it to help the police or find lost children. He could check up on the dwarves and the hobbits. He could become a sort of modern-day Ranger, perhaps even shutting down SEELE before they can cause Second Impact. (Gendo Ikari: And we would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for that rotten kid!)  
A palantir can be used to contact other people who have a palantir through a form of artificial telepathy. This would allow Ranma to learn wizardry from Gandalf and elvish skills from Galadriel. If Gandalf and Galadriel tell others about Ranma he may learn archery from Legolas or dwarvish skills from Gimli. Elves are always depicted as being exceptional musicians, so there is the possibility of Ranma becoming a famous musician of some sort.  
It is possible for an evil person who has a palantir to corrupt someone else who is using one. Therefore, Ranma may devote some time to finding the other five Seeing-Stones and making sure they don't fall into the wrong hands. He may also have to track down other items of power before they can be misused. This may lead him into conflict with the Amazons.  
There is still room in this fic for one more crossover. There are plenty of possibilities there, especially if one of the other Seeing-Stones gets found by a character in a different series. Imagine Rei from Sailor Moon finding one and getting tutored by Gandalf.   
Other ways of creating a crossover? Like I said, Ranma could become Gandalf's apprentice. A botched spell could cause someone or more than one person from a different series to suddenly show up. Possibilities include Rurouni Kenshin, Record of Lodoss War, Dirty Pair, Trigun, or others.  
Will others from Ranma 1/2 show up? That's certainly a possibility. Ukyou is still out there trying hunt Ranma down. If the sign of a certain dojo in Nerima catches his eye, Ranma may meet the Tendos.   
This Ranma, being under the influence of two of the wisest characters in The Lord of the Rings, will naturally be much wiser and more ethical than he was in the original series. He won't allow himself to be manipulated by Nabiki or anyone. He also wouldn't allow himself to be forced into a marriage or to commit seppuku.   
Well, that's all from me. I'll try to finish some more fics for the Second Bet. Bye.  
  
P.S. Palantir, when used as a name, means "The Far-Seeing."  
  
P.P.S. AnimeAddiction Rules!!! 


	10. Roshi's Story

Author's Note: This is an idea. This is only an idea. If people like the idea, the idea will be continued. However, this is only an idea that I've had floating around in my head for a little while. You want the real meaning of this? Fine; the feedback I receive will determine if theis fic gets written or not. Thank you.  
  
  
Disclaimer: DBZ does not belong to me. If I claimed that it did, then I'd be both a liar and a target for massive, painful, and expensive litigation. Thus, I openly admit that it does not belong to me. FUNimation owns it. Go bother them about licensing. Ranma belongs to Rumiko Takahashi, not me. Go bother her about licensing. I'm just borrowing everybody.  
  
Flashfyre5 Presents  
A Flaming Amarant Production  
In association with Digital Wizardry Studios, Minnesota  
  
Roshi's Story, Prelude: Wha-? My Story?  
  
  
* * * * * *  
  
The Spirit looked around Mimir's Well, taking in the modest gathering of Gods, Demi-Gods, and Greater Spirits that had gathered to participate in the Second Bet. Some timelines had already produced quite interesting results, even though the timeframe was only halfway gone. Smiling, the Spirit approached Mimir's Well, where a small red fox and a black cat rested.  
"I'm here to make an entry," he stated flatly, his tail curling around his waist. The fox raised his head and looked him over. He wasn't particularly tall, standing at 5'8", but he was remarkable in almost every other way. His most obvious trait was a mane of wild ebony hair that hung well past his waist. His face was chiseled, as if from alabaster, and bore what seemed to be a semi-permanent sneer. He was well muscled, and wore a heavy breastplate complete with groin, thigh, and shoulder guards. Around his waist, wrapped like a belt, was a fuzzy, brown tail. Floating over his head was a simple, golden ring.  
"Who're you?" Great Fox asked groggily. This roused Toltiir, who merely looked the newcomer over, then went back to sleep.  
"My name's Raditz, and I'm here to make an entry," the man re-stated. Great Fox sniffed at his aura, then rested his head back on the ground.  
"You're not strong enough to be a Greater Spirit. Go away," Great Fox commanded. Raditz clenched his fists, one of which held a blue rubber ball. The rubber squeaked, but he let up before it burst. Suddenly, in an explosion of noise, wind, and light, his black hair suddenly turned blond, and his eyes blue. A golden corona flared into existence around him, and he relaxed his grip on the rubber ball, lest he break it. The noise and light had caught Great Fox's attention, and even Toltiir had chosen to crack an eye at the display of power.  
"How about now?" Raditz asked simply. Great Fox looked at him for a while, then nodded.  
"Just as long as you don't make an apocalyptic timeline. We have... another entry that's done that just fine," Great Fox warned.  
"Hey!" Shouted a silver robot from across the room, but he was ignored.  
"Fine, take all the fun out of it," Raditz sneered, smiling. Great Fox hoped that he was joking. Regardless, Raditz flew above Mimir's well, clutching the ball.  
"I already know what I want to do," he stated. "Put the baseline on top of the well, like oil. This ball represents my home timeline," he instructed. Great Fox was skeptical, but complied.  
"Crossover or fusion?" Great Fox asked.  
"Crossover," Raditz answered. "Hopefully, I can hit the bottom..." Mightily, he wound up, then hurled the ball into the well with all his might. It disappeared beneath the surface with a great splash and disappeared from sight, as the future of the baseline was altered in small, yet significant ways. Silently, Raditz waited, watching the pool intently.  
"That thing is bottomless, you know," Great Fox commented, hopping on to the lip of the well.  
"Nothing's bottomless," Raditz said. "It's impossible. Anybody'll tell you that."  
"And changing the course of history is possible?" Great Fox countered. Raditz, knowing better than to attack a God, held his temper and his retort. Another tense minute passed, but Raditz didn't move an inch. Great Fox, by now, had returned to sleep, but Toltiir had sat up, and was watching Raditz with interest.  
"What're you trying to do?" he asked.  
"I want to be able to claim to be the first being to do something I thought of a while ago. Something that nobody's done, or even tried to do," Raditz said.  
"Meaning?" Toltiir prompted.  
"I want to change the course of a timeline in just the right areas so that it completely changes course, and joins another cluster," Raditz said, almost as if he'd rehearsed it.  
"You mean that you want to use a crossover to have the same effect as a fusion?" Toltiir asked.  
"Basically. I looked at the baseline, and if I add a few people from my world and change one person's course in life, I think that I can relocate it to my home cluster," Raditz said.  
"Interesting. Who're you adding?" Toltiir asked.  
"Goku, Piccolo, Kami, and a couple of others that just aren't native to the planet. That's my big splash," Raditz said. Suddenly, the rubber ball popped out of the well, ricocheted off the ceiling, and fell into Raditz's waiting hand. Toltiir whistled, which was an impressive feat for a cat.  
"No many have been able to hit the bottom of Mimir's Well. Nice arm," Toltiir commented.  
"I'm a Super Saiyan," Raditz stated simply. Toltiir shook his head, smiling.  
"So, what did the other splash do?" he asked.  
"Changed one person's life. Without him, Goku would've been killed, and Frieza would've eventually stumbled across, and destroyed, Earth," Raditz explained.  
"Like in the baseline," Toltiir nodded. Then, he looked carefully at the pool, and the ripples that were coming from the splashes. "Well," he decided. "Whatever else happens, this should be interesting."  
  
* * * * * *  
  
"Kurillen, Eighteen, we're here!" Gohan called, his voice cracking just a hair. At fifteen, the young man could hardly help it. At his side, walking with a grace that few martial artists three times his age could muster, was Goten. Behind them stood Chi Chi, a smile gracing her face as well.  
"Gohan, Chi Chi, great to see you!" Kurillen shouted, grabbing Gohan's hand in greeting.  
"Uncle Kurillen, Uncle Kurillen, I'm here too!" Goten said, patting Kurillen's thigh. The short man let go of Gohan's hand and lifted Goten high over his head, the little five-year-old squealing all the way.  
"So you are, kiddo. Wow, you've really grown," Kurillen said.  
"Three whole inches!" Goten bragged. "Mama says that I've still got a lot to go, though."  
"It's good to see you, Kurillen," Chi Chi said, smiling.   
Kurillen lowered Goten to rest in the crook of his arm and replied warmly, "It's good to see you too, Chi Chi. It's been too long."  
"Since Goten was born," she agreed, as Gohan slipped by the two adults into the house.  
"I'm sorry. It's just that, well, seeing you brings back a lot," Kurillen apologized, ashamed.  
"I'm just as guilty as you," Chi Chi disagreed. "I've been avoiding you, because seeing you and the others remind me of Goku. I still miss him..."  
"Me too," Kurillen agreed, and the two were silent for a moment. Goten, deciding that there was probably more fun to be had inside, hopped out of Kurillen's arms and dashed inside. "Let's... try not to avoid each other any more. It makes me miss Goku to see you, but it brings back a lot of memories. Good ones," Kurillen finally said.  
"I'd like that," Chi Chi agreed. Suddenly, an exclamation from inside shattered the sad moment.  
"Wow! Auntie Eighteen, you sure are big!" Goten's astounded shout echoed.  
"Enough with this sad stuff!" Chi Chi exclaimed. "Let's get to the real reason why I'm here."  
"Right this way," Kurillen directed. "She's in the living room. Want me to get those for you?"  
"No, I'm fine," Chi Chi said, picking up a pair of white paper bags. Together, she and Kurillen entered the house and made their way to the living room, where Gohan chatted with Eighteen and Goten rubbed her enormous belly, his eyes as big as saucers. "There's the expectant mother! When are you due again?" Chi Chi asked, smiling.  
"Not soon enough," Eighteen replied sardonically. Even still, she too was smiling.  
"You say that, but you wouldn't give it up for the world," Chi Chi accused, and Eighteen just shook her head, smiling.  
"Two weeks," Eighteen said.  
"Huh?" Chi Chi asked, confused.  
"She's due in two weeks," Kurillen explained.  
"It's still kind of amazing that Eighteen can have kids, huh?" Gohan said.  
"Hey, kid, nobody was more surprised than I was when she told me," Kurillen exclaimed, and everybody except for Goten shared a laugh. He was still engrossed with Eighteen's engorged stomach.  
"Kurillen? Eighteen? Master Roshi? Anyone home?" Yamcha's voice called from the front door.  
"Come on in, we're in the living room!" Gohan called. Footsteps approached, and soon Yamcha and Puar had joined the others in the living room.  
"Hi, guys. Piccolo and Dedne couldn't make it, but they send their congratulations," Yamcha said, plopping a roughly wrapped box onto the coffee table.  
"Piccolo sends his congratulations?" Kurillen asked, holding back a laugh.  
"Whatever. Dende sends his congratulations. Piccolo was too busy meditating, but I'm sure he would've if he'd heard me," Yamcha admitted, provoking another laugh from all present. Goten, though, just rubbed Eighteen's stomach.  
"Wow..." he murmured.  
"Like that, huh?" Eighteen asked.  
"Yeah. It's really cool!" Goten agreed. Eighteen's smile grew a fraction of an inch.  
"You know, Kurillen, this is probably the happiest that I've ever seen Eighteen," Gohan commented.  
"Yeah, me too," Kurillen agreed. "Well, our wedding day came close, especially if you only count the night...," he said, inciting another round of laughter.  
"Huh? What's he mean?" Goten asked, confused.  
"I dunno, Goten. Probably an adult thing," Gohan said.  
"Enough of this," Eighteen said once she had stopped chuckling. "This is a baby shower; let's get to the shower part!"  
  
*** Three Hours Later***  
  
"I don't think I'll ever find a use for all of this," Eighteen finally declared. Many drinks, all non-alcoholic, had been passed around as presents were opened and stories told. Somewhere along the line, Master Roshi and Turtle had wandered in and had joined the festivities.  
"Just you wait," Chi Chi promised. "By the time your baby's a month old, you'll wish that you'd have gotten more!"  
"I don't think we have room for more!" Kurillen declared, standing next to a freshly assembled crib that still smelled of varnish. "Wow, Gohan, this is really something. And you only used your hands?"  
"Well, I did use a sander to smooth it out," Gohan admitted.  
"That's incredible. I don't think I could build a crib, even with power tools, and here goes Gohan, only using his hands," Kurillen said, shaking his head. "You really are Goku's son, aren't you?"  
"I certainly hope so," Roshi interjected. "It'd be awfully hard to explain his tail otherwise!"  
"That it would," Gohan agreed, laughing. "Mom, have you been seeing anyone?"  
"Not on your life, mister," Chi Chi huffed, upset. The amusement that had been spawned from Master Roshi's joke quickly died down.  
"Geez, Mom, I'm sorry," Gohan said, seeing how hurt his mother was.  
"Me too. I should've known better," Roshi apologized, bowing his head. Chi Chi was silent for a moment, fuming.  
"All right, but I don't want to talk about Goku any more," Chi Chi sighed, a tear glistening in her eye. "It makes me miss him too much." Nobody could think of anything to say after this.  
"Well," Kurillen finally said. "We've opened the presents, we've told the stories. I think that that's pretty much it."  
"Not quite," Eighteen said. "There's still one story that I want to hear. His."  
"Who?" Gohan asked.  
"Roshi. I've never heard anything about his past. I want to hear about how he got started," Eighteen explained.  
"Wha-? My story?" Roshi stammered.  
"Come to think of it, neither have I," Kurillen said, cocking his head.  
"None of us have," Yamcha said. "The first I heard about Master Roshi was when he and Goku first met."  
"Yeah," agreed Gohan, nodding his head. He turned to look at Master Roshi, and the others soon followed suit.  
"Well?" Eighteen asked after a minute.  
"Well... are you sure you want to hear the story of some old, moldy martial artist?" Roshi asked, blushing faintly.  
"We asked, didn't we?" Eighteen said, her voice flat and pragmatic.  
"Don't have anything better to do for the next few hours," Kurillen agreed.  
"Well, in that case, I suggest that you all take a seat. My story isn't exactly what you might call short," Roshi suggested, sitting down on a cushion and folding his legs underneath him. Kurillen plopped down next to his wife on the couch, while Gohan and Yamcha decided to take up some wall space and a pair of pillows. Chi Chi claimed the chair, but went to the kitchen to get some lemonade first.  
"Let's see... I guess that my journey down the path of martial arts began when I was sixteen. Before then, I hadn't even considered being a warrior. I wanted to be an painter, or some other such nonsense," Roshi began as Chi Chi re-entered the room, carrying a tray laden with lemonade. Silently, she passed a glass to each person present, then took the last and sat down. "However, a young man moved into town and showed me just how wrong I was."  
"Who was he?" asked Goten, who had decided to sit on his mother's lap.  
"Well, I have to explain a few things before I really get started," Roshi said. "First of all, I lived in Tokyo, the Nerima ward. Second of all, I wasn't called Roshi back then, except by my closest friends. My real name was Hiroshi Kibigami."  
"Your real name is Hiroshi?" Kurillen asked, surprised.  
"Not anymore. I changed it when I came of age. I thought of it as a symbolic start to the rest of my life," Roshi explained. "Now, I had just recently turned sixteen when a martial artist came to town. He was incredibly talented. The only person that I know who's matched his ability to learn new techniques and just plain fight was Goku. Of course, he was only human, so there's probably hardly any comparison anymore."  
"C'mon, tell us what his name was!" Gohan demanded.  
"Gohan, manners," Chi Chi reprimanded softly.  
"Yes, ma'am," he whispered. Undisturbed, Roshi continued onward with his story.  
"His name was Ranma Saotome. He'd been training since he could walk, and had more stubborn determination than most mules, a good number of mountains, and more than a few of Saiyans I've met," Roshi said. "The day I first saw him fight... I'll never forget it..."  
  
* * * * * *  
  
"You think anybody'll beat Akane today?" Hiroshi asked. He was an average looking young man, with a skinny, but unmuscled, build and dark hair that was already beginning to thin. If asked, he'd furiously deny it, but there were far too much hair in the sink every morning for it to be any less than the truth.  
"Nah," Daisuke Iwata replied. Daisuke was Hiroshi's best friend, and had been since before either of the two could remember. He was a little taller then Hiroshi, and had a more muscular build, fractionally. He had sandy brown hair and unusual, green eyes. Hiroshi suspected that his mother had had an affair with an American G.I. after the War, but he didn't ask and Daisuke didn't tell. "Kuno might, if he ever got over his 'go easy on her' kick."  
"Which he won't," Hiroshi added. Daisuke nodded, and the two took up their usual places at the windows. "Here she comes," he suddenly said, seeing the horde of lust-stricken young men gathered at the gates begin their morning charge. Akane, a small blue figure, plowed into them, decimating the horde. Meanwhile, a figure dressed in red and black hopped to the top of the school wall and watched. Soon, the boys of the horde were lying flat on their backs, or stomachs, whichever way Akane had hit them. The figure dressed in red hopped off of the wall and started to talk to Akane, but it soon became obvious that Kuno wasn't about to stand for that.  
"Who is that guy? Kuno's gonna kill him!" Daisuke exclaimed. Hiroshi could only nod in agreement.  
"- Blue Thunder of Furinkan High!" they heard Kuno shout as he struck a noble pose. A crack of lightning boomed out behind him.  
"... You think he planned that?" Hiroshi asked.  
"With Kuno? Who knows. He might have a lightning machine or something; he is the richest guy in town," Daisuke said, shrugging his shoulders. Below, the figure in red said something to Kuno, which seemed to enrage the kendoist. He attacked, but the figure in red just dodged to the side, his body absolutely fluid. Kuno tried again, slashing through the perimeter wall this time. However, the figure had dodged again, this to the left this time. Again and again Kuno attacked, but the figure never once faltered, dodging the wild attacks flawlessly.  
"Wow," breathed Hiroshi. "That's incredible."  
"Yeah," Daisuke agreed, watching with rapt attention. Finally, the figure in red seemed to tire of the game he was playing with Kuno, and attacked him from above. The punch to the forehead, then vicious spin kick sent Kuno down hard, and the figure dashed inside, just beating the rain.  
"That...," Hiroshi began, turning to face Daisuke. "Was the most awesome thing I ever saw."  
"Yeah, it was pretty cool," Daisuke agreed, walking back to his desk. "So, are we still gonna try to knock that tile into the girls' locker room out today?"  
"You can, Dai. I'm gonna talk to that guy," Hiroshi said.  
"What?!" Daisuke nearly exploded, looking with wide eyes at his best friend. "We've been planning this for months! Don't tell me that you're giving it all up now, when we're so close, just to go chat with some new kid."  
"I'm not gonna talk to him, Dai," Hiroshi said, feeling, for the first time in his life, like he had a direction, a purpose. "I'm gonna ask him to teach me how to fight like that."  
"Huh?" Daisuke asked, confused. This didn't sound like the skinny, bony young man who had dropped out of kendo because he was too weak.  
"Just seeing him out there, Dai... it was incredible. He was like water, ya know...," Hiroshi trailed off.  
"Well, yeah, but he's probably been training for his whole life. You could never be like him," Hiroshi agreed.  
"I don't care. Just seeing him out there...," Hiroshi said, shaking his head. "I know what I want to do with my life, Dai. I want to be a martial artist."  
  
***Author's Note***  
  
Here we go- my second entry into the Second Bet. I know that I should be working on The Opening Bet (sorry to all you who I kept waiting), but this story just found itself a spot in the back of my head and wouldn't leave me alone. In any case, if you guys liked it, as far as a beginning is concerned, E-mail me. If I get enough of a response, I'll continue the thing!  
~Flash 


	11. The Lost Bet

The 2nd Bet   
The Lost Entry  
  
Disclaimer:  
Some of he characters in the story are mine, as is the story itself. Unfortunately, the rest doesn't belong to me.  
  
Prologue  
  
Toltiir looked up, as someone entered the cave where he had just taken a little catnap. The snoring coming from the small, red fox prooved that he was not the only one to do such things in times between the entries.  
  
The snoring of the fox stopped as something made its presence known with a loud crash, followed by a string of creative cursing. Toltiir grinned. Another entry in this bet was about to begin. And from the type of entrance, it could be only...  
  
"WHERE THE HELL AM I NOW? RANMA SAOTOME, THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!!"  
  
Toltiir facefaulted. That was not who he had expected.  
  
A human boy, about 16 mortal years old, walked around the corner and looked warily at the well. Toltiir called out to him "stay away from the water, boy. This is none of your business"  
  
The boy, a fairly handsome one was clad in dirty and worn clothes. His unruly hair was bound with a yellow and black bandanna. He jumped back startled as he heard the voice. Then he looked around and, seeing nothing but two aimals, shouted "WHO SAID THAT? SHOW YOURSELF!"  
  
The fox decided to add his part to he conversation and said "Look here,sonnyboy. You definitely don't want to be here. This is no place for you mortals."  
  
Ryouga, if you haven't found out by now, started to panic as the fox spoke to him. When he saw the small, black cat grin at him in a mischievous and definitely not catlike manner, it was too much for him to bear. With a shout of "BAKUSAI TENKETSU" he stabbed a finger at the wall and ran screaming through the new hole.  
  
"He took that better than i expected, " said Toltiir while watching a stone from the explosion fly toward the well. It changed a tiny little detail in the timeline, as it vanished into the water.  
  
Toltiir looked into the water and grinned. The fox looked at the cat, then at the timeline. After a few moments he asked "Does that count?"  
  
Toltiir shrugged. "Why not? I have seen worse."  
  
----------  
  
Ranma looked at the paceful valley with the small springs and sighed. Finally, they had arrived at Jusenkyo, their last stop before their return to Japan.  
  
"Looks pretty. This is your famous trainingground, pops?"  
  
"Pretty? I will show you pretty, boy. Move your lazy butt up here or are you too girly and want to look more at the pretty springs?" With this words, Genma Saotome, a burly man in a dirty gi and a handkerchief on his head, dropped his backpack and jumped on one of the bambo-poles, which decorated the center of most of the springs.  
"Girly? I will show you girly, old man!" Then Ranma dropped his pack too and jumped on another pole, a few springs away and faced his father, waiting. Both of them ignored a small chinese man, who entered a hut for a moment, before he came back with a kettle in his hand.  
  
Soon, Genma lost his patience and jumped on the poles toward his son, who smirked at him. As Genma jumped toward him with an outstretched foot, Ranma jumped upward and landed on the head of Genma. Jumping again toward the pole, where his father came from, he pushed the man into the water of the pool below. Then he faced the water, where his father had vanished just seconds ago.  
  
He was ill prepared for a large panda jumping out and leveling itself on a pole, before it jumped toward him and backhanded him toward another pool. Panicking, he saw the water of the pool approach, before the world became a very wet place - at least for him.  
  
----------  
  
Genma watched satisfied, as Ranma fell into a pool. "Ungrateful boy. Serves you right for pushing me into the water" he shouted. At least he tried. The bellow of an animal was unexpected. Then he saw the white fur on his arm...  
  
----------  
  
Ranma broke the surface of the pool and saw the panda, looking at its arm. Then he saw his reflection in the water of the pool and realized that something was wrong. Somehow his body felt wrong. He growled and found his voice changed. It was pitched different and sounded somewhat higher. As he looked down on his chest and found his two new appendages under his now baggy gi, she screamed in outrage.  
  
"Old man, you're so dead!!!" Then the new girl climbed out of the pool and started to run after the fleeing panda. A small stone at the edge of another pool, combined with her new body caused Ranma to loose her balance and she dived headfirst into the next pool instead of jumping over it. The water bubbled for a moment, before a blur shot out of it and after the panda. A short moment later, terrifed screams of pain from a certain panda could be heard...  
  
--------  
  
  
The 2nd Bet   
The Lost Entry  
  
Disclaimer:  
Some of the characters in the story are mine, as is the story itself. Unfortunately, the rest doesn't belong to me. Ranma One Half belongs to Rumiko Takahashi and whoever else prints it. Here in Germany that would be xxxRanmaPrint. Tenchi Muyo belongs to xxxTenchiAuthor. Unfortunately, the german release belongs to xxxTenchiVideo, which means that the german translation is just plain horrible and not worth the money you have to pay for it (Almost every character sounds as if the speaker was incredibly bored at the moment of the dialogue. It's a wonder they get paid - if they are).  
  
  
Chapter 01  
  
Ranma searched through the backpack of his father.Maybe the old man had some useful things in there. So far he had found the catfist-manual, some scrolls and a little bit of money. On the bottom of the pack was an old piece of paper next to the picture of a woman. The woman looked somewhat familiar, but he couldn't think of a reason why.  
  
As he read the paper, he snorted. To bad his father laid outside, beaten up and unconscious. 'Oh well, he will wake up. Then he has another one coming' thought Ranma. 'Sepukku, my ass. I bet he never had intentions to go through it. He would probably have weaseled his way out somehow. Or maybe blamed me being useless and lazy and a failure not worth teaching anything. Hah!'   
  
The guide greeted him, as he entered his hut. "Greetings, Mr. Customer. You find something useful in pack of other Mr. Customer?' he asked and prepared to boil some hot water.  
  
"Not really. Some scrolls with techniques, a little bit of money and a picture of a woman. But I'm not finished yet. Maybe there is something else, I'm not finished yet. Say, you have thermos here. I could really use one or two, in case I change again".  
  
"Mr. Customer has good idea. but this one no understand why fear other form so bad. It could be worse and you still look human... well, mostly."  
  
Ranma shivered and tossed the guide the catfist-manual. Then he continued to search through his fathers belongings.  
  
The guide looked through the manual and started to develop a faint green hue on his skin after a short time.  
  
----------  
  
After another beating of his father - the old man had woken up and tried to get some revenge - he bid farewell to the guide. As small note that he could go to hell for all he cared was placed next to the unconscious panda. He had found a map and the guide had pointed out where he was. Ranma was sure, he could find his way toward the coast and return to Japan without his father. Having the old fart with him would slow him down and would bring him just more trouble anyway. Two thermos with hot water, which the guide had given him for free, where stored away in his backpack and his belt. He would have to replace the water regularly, but it was better than nothing. Then he waved goodbye at the guide and walked away.  
  
---------  
  
Ryouga walked toward the hut on the other side of that strange springs, as a shout from the hut distracted him for a moment. In front of the hut was a small, chinese man yelling something uncomprehensible at him and walking slowly toward him. A big panda lied next to the hut unmoving on the ground.  
  
Waving at the man, Ryouga looked firmly at him and walked forward - directly into one of the springs.  
  
A moment later, a petite, brownhaired girl with an impressive built broke the surface of the spring and gasped for air. Then she climbed out of the spring and shook the water out of her hair.   
  
"Aiyaaah, Miss Customer fell in spring of drowned girl. You lucky, you not change.", the guide told her. as he appeared next to her, eying the springs carefully.  
  
"Huh? Who are you calling Miss?" asked Ryouga and wondered what happened to his voice. Then he looked downwards. His chest looked strange. And somehow, his clothes didn't fit anymore. A patting of his chest revealed something that shouldn't be there and it felt funny too. With a sinking feeling, he opened the top buttons and peered inside his shirt.  
  
The guide wondered why the eyes of the girl before him suddenly glazed over before she passed out with a major nosebleed. All he could do was grab her and level her out on the ground. It wouldn't do for her to fall into the spring of drowned boy behind her. That would be a terrible waste. Then he started moving her toward his hut, before something else could happen.  
  
----------  
  
Genma woke up with a splitting headache. 'That ungrateful son of mine. He must have hit me on the had with a lucky shot.' As he stood up, he could see his paws and whimpered. "What have I done to deserve this?" he growfed toward the heaven. There was no answer. He also ignored the note left to him.   
  
----------  
  
Ryouga woke up and groaned. 'That was a strange dream.'  
  
"Ah, Miss Customer awake. You tell his one, why you faint in middle of cursed springs. That very dangerous."  
  
"Who are you calling Miss?" asked Ryouga and opened his eyes. He was lying in a bed and his wet clothes where lying in a heap next to it. He sat up and dropped the cover to his waist. Then he wondered why the guide turned around. And why was he blushing? And how the heck could women stand that jiggling of their breasts when they moved?...   
  
Ryouga froze at that last thought. That was simply not possible. He was a man, he couldn't have... Then he looked down and screamed.  
  
---------  
  
Genma heard the scream and rushed into the hut, waving a sign around with 'Son, what happened?' He ignored the glare, the guide was sending toward him and looked at the girl sitting on the bed and screaming her head off. 'Nice breasts.' he thought. Then a thought hit him. This couldn't be Ranma. Ranma was a... whatever that was, but it was not that girl on the bed with the nice breasts. The sign with 'Where is Ranma' was ignored by both of the other occupants of the hut.  
  
---------  
  
The 2nd Bet   
The Lost Entry  
  
Disclaimer:  
They are not mine. If they where, I probably wouldn't have to work so hard to pay all the bills.  
  
Anyways, just to be on the safe side: The characters depicted in this concoction are not mine, they belong to other people. One mentioned here should be Rumiko Takahashi for the Ranma-bits and Pioneer for Tenchi Muyo.  
  
  
Chapter 02  
  
"Computer, list all new records on subjects Saotome, Genma and Saotome, Ranma" a female voice spoke.  
  
"Case files for Saotome, Genma, ID 54-0315/Earth-4356 and Saotome, Ranma, ID 54-0315/Earth-4357 are classified. Please enter authorization." This voice had a pleasant sounding baritone, but lacked any emotion.  
  
"Saotome, Nodoka. Galaxy Police Detective First Class, stationed on Earth to ensure the non-interference preserve placed upon the system by the juraian law. Password-sequence: Revenge is a dish best served cold."  
  
"Authorization accepted. Checking Database, please wait..."  
  
Nodoka sighed. Since she lost the trail on Genma in China, she checked all her sources daily, but so far had found nothing. After her husband went on this training trip with their son ten years ago, she was recruited by the Galaxy Police. After her time at the academy and her return to Earth, she had tried to find her husband. Following all the leads, she had found in her search, gave her more knowledge about the suffering, her son had had, growing up with Genma alone. The story told by them had her weeping for her son more than once - and wishing to get Genma in her hands to wring some justice out of his sorry hide.  
  
The voice of the computer interrupted her musings. "No new records where found since your last call yesterday, Detective. Do you want to add new data to the file?"  
  
"No, thank you. If anything turns up, inform me. Terminate session."  
  
"Acknowledged. Session terminated. Have a nice day."  
  
Nodoka sighed and transformed her control cube back into the bracelet, she wore on her left wrist. Pouring herself some tea, she pondered what to do next. Asking Yosho, if he found some news of her son was not an option at the moment. He was busy with his grandson and their guests and had no time to help her search her son.   
  
Then there was the matter of her new partner, who was supposed to arrive in four days - one Mihoshi Kuramitsu. The data she received with the information about her was somewhat strange, but she seemed to be a good officer, even if she was a bit enthusiastic at times. She had a feeling, that her superior officer at headquarters was afraid of her. "Good luck with her, you will need it" was one strange addendum to the message, when the orders arrived. And why did she ask about her insurance. Well, four days and she would know.  
  
Her train of thoughts was interrupted by the telephone.  
  
"Saotome residence, Saotome Nodoka is speaking."  
  
"Umm... Mom?" a male voice stuttered.  
  
"Mom? Is that you, Ranma?"  
  
"Ya, sorta... Umm, not ta sound urgent or sumthin', but can ya tell me how ta reach ya. I found yer in the phonebook and have no idea how ta find yer address."  
  
"Where are you, son?" Nodoka asked eagerly.  
  
"At the harbour. I just arrived with a fishing vessel from China. I'm glad, I'm away from ta water."  
  
"Stay there. I will come and get you there. Don't move away."  
  
"Ok mom, see ya later then."  
  
Nodoka smiled happily, then called for a cab to fetch her son. "Oh, I can't wait. To bad, I can't use the ship to go there. It would be much faster. Oh well. A little bit more is nothing compared to the last years..."  
  
-----  
  
After driving to the harbour and finding Ranma, they arrived back at her home. Ranma looked at the modest house with big eyes. Then he shivered. It was about to rain, he could see the clouds overhead.   
  
"Lets go inside, mom. I have a lot ta tell ya."  
  
Nodoka smiled, glad to have her son back. Even though she would have to do something about his language skills. His diction and vocabulary had holes big enough for a Juraian treeship.  
  
-----  
  
Ranma sat at the table in the living room, a cup of hot tea in his hands. His mother had shown him his old room and he dropped his pack there. He wondered where to start with the story of his life. Then he internally shrugged. The beginning would be a good start.  
  
------  
  
Nodoka smiled, as Ranma told her about his friend Ucchan, who he met at age 6.  
  
She wept in horror, as Ranma told her about the Neko-ken training at age 7. She knew about the training, but the effects on Ranma where knew to her.  
  
Nodoka almost fainted after hearing about Genma using the Touched Soul technique to kickstart Ranmas using ki.  
  
A pale Nodoka listened to Ranma telling her about the training in the Ocean Born-technique and the Shark Fist at the age of 14, when they crossed over to China.  
  
-----  
  
Ranma sighed. His mother took his story rather well. Now for the worst part.   
  
"Umm, mom? There is one more part. but I don't know if ya'll believe this."  
  
"Why not, Ranma. At the moment I would believe almost anything you say."  
  
"Well...It's the best I show ya, but I need some hot and cold water for it. And some time ta prepare for it." Ranma fidgeted, as he said that and somehow gave the impression that he would rather storm the gates of hell with nothing more than a bucket of water instead of telling her.  
  
"Son, you don't have to tell me this, if you don't want to."  
  
Ranma sighed. "I really don't want to, but in the last two weeks I found that I better come right out instead of springing the surprise on the people. Monster is one of the better words I have been called."  
  
Nodoka pondered that for a moment, then nodded and went into the kitchen to fetch the water. She placed two glasses in front of her son, then sat down. "Whenever you are ready." she said, smiling encouragingly at Ranma.  
  
Ranma made some efforts to calm himself, then said "The last place, pop and me went, was called Jusenkyo, the pools of sorrow. A well deserved name, if ya ask me. It's a valley filled with springs and supposed to be a training ground for balance practice. Ya see, each spring has a bamboo pole in it and pop decided, that we should spar on top of them. He even had a brochure about that place, but the moron was not able to read it. I think the only chinese phrase he knows is "where is the sake?" and some possible answers to that."  
  
"Anyways, pop ignored the guide,and I did the same thing. After some rounds I manged to dunk pop into one of the springs. Turned out ta be the "spring of drowned panda". I watched the spring, when a giant panda jumped out and backhanded me into another spring, the "spring of the drowned girl". Well, I came out and... well, I had breasts and stuff and was really angry, so I jumped at the panda to beat the shit out of him, when I stumbled and fell in another spring, this one had a cat-demon drowned in it. I trashed pop pretty good, before I found out what happened."   
  
Then Ranma stood up, splashed himself with cold water and changed. His ears vanished and appeared on top of his head. He grew almost a foot in height, a tail found it's way out of his trouser and all over his visible skin fur appeared. It was some dark yellow with black spots. His hair changed color from black to a firy red. Then his chest expanded in two prominent locations and the whole body became feminine.  
  
As the change was finished, a beeping sound came from the bracelet on Nodokas left wrist. She blinked, looked at Ranma and blinked again. Then her focus shifted to the bracelet.  
  
She touched a small gem on it and the beeping stopped. A small holographic matrix was activated and displayed above the gem. A red arrow pointed at Ranma and a small field with data appeared.   
  
"Warning. Genetic structure of being ahead changed from human male to kartigh female. DNA scan after change shows 74% match of subject Marowth, Class B criminal wanted in 53 systems for violations of local law. Also wanted for violation of Galaxy Police regulation 23 - Killing of Officer, regulation 26 - resistance to capture, regulation 54 - escape from high security prison on Rigel IV and regulation 248 - theft of Galaxy Police property, in this case a Galaxy Police Misaki Class Cruiser. Warning - subject is extremely dangerous."  
  
"Class B? Oh Kami-sama. A Class B criminal on my planet." With that outburst, Nodoka turned the display off, tapped another spot on the bracelet and was suddenly clad in a blue uniform. Her katana was unraveled and the blade ignited into a juraian key.  
  
Then she turned toward Ranma, drew the key into a defensive position in front of her body and aimed the gun at the frozen youth and shouted: "Freeze, Criminal. This is Nodoka Saotome, First Class Detective of the Galaxy Police and you are under arrest. Now hand over my son, raise your hands and don't make any hasty move or I will shoot you."   
  
"Mom, you have a curse too?" squeaked Ranma, obviously stunned by her mothers transformation. Then she used the only appropriate technique, she could think off at the moment - she fainted and draped herself nicely over the table.  
  
TBC... arrival of Mihoshi, Nodoka calling Yosho and asks for help with a family matter. 


	12. ThunderRanma

Disclaimer: This is meant for fun only so just lay back and try to enjoy this story. Otherwise how else are ya supposed to have *ANY* fun, hmmmm?   
  
Safety Disclaimer: No stones were harmed in the production of this fanfic. Though we did lose quite a few stuntmen, oddly enough we didnt use any stuntmen......   
  
---------------------------------   
  
The rippling light coming from Mimir's Well was the first thing the two travelers noticed as they stepped into the dark bar, just noticing that the well itself was brighter then any other light source in the bar. As their eyes adjusted they could see several beings sitting at the various tables, idly looking at three beings leaning against the stone lip of the Well, staring into the complexity of eternity.   
  
"Looks like we got here before everyone else." The more outgoing person said to his darker then shadow companion as they walked over to the Well.   
  
As they got closer the beings around the well looked up, just noticing them for the first time. Their eyes first locked on the man, 5' 7" in height he sported a small black ponytail that almost blended in too well with his Khaki trenchcoat, then their eyes moved to the sword and gun holstered on either side of his belt over the bushman body armor.   
  
He extended his hand toward Great Fox along with a pleasant smile. "Howdy, names Lone Wolf." He shook hands with Great Fox before motioning to the man beside him. "And this here's my friend Rem Chaos."   
  
"Chaos!?" One of the drunken gods slurred from a nearby table.   
  
A form seemingly made out of shadows greated their gaze, the only noticeable part of his body being the pale face, his eyes couldnt be seen though nothing appeared to be covering them. "Greetings." He looked over their shoulders at the pool. His lips quirked upwards in a small smile as he continued to stare at the timelines appearing and disappearing within the Well.   
  
Wolf continued. "Were here to enter the Second Bet, if'n its alright with all'ya here."   
  
"Its not *hickup*..right with me!" Bellowed the god as he suddenly grabbed Rem and whirled him around to face him. "Im...*hickup* the God of Order...*hickup* and we dont need..n-no chaos around here."   
  
Rem stared at the god, his face breaking out in a cruel smile that showed lots of pointy teeth. His dark body rippled for a moment before settling on a outfit similiar to his friends, with the addition of several more guns. "My friends call me Rem Chaos, but you...you can call me Q." Within a second his eyes developed deep red iris's as jagged blades grew out from his shoulders and arms, behind him Wolf tensed with his hands poised over his weapons.   
  
The God of Order high tailed it for the bathroom. A few moments later the sounds of violent wretching could be heard.   
  
After all the introductions had been made Lone and Rem stared into the well, silently confering amongst themselves, then reaching a decision they each took out a different stone and made to throw them.   
  
Rem started pointing at various parts shown by the well. "Off Genma's head before he throws Ranma into the pit, around the galactic black hole, through those universes, past Akane's cooking. Nothing but chance." He   
smiled victoriously at Lone Wolf.   
  
Lone looked over the timelines for a moment before reponding. "Alright. Into this universe, off the nuetron star, through that alien mothership, off Ataru's head and through his favorite pin-up poster. Nothing but luck."   
  
Throwing their stones at the same time the gods around them all looked to see what would happen. Just at that time the god of Order came out of the bathroom.   
  
From out of the well a scream could be simultaneously heard from both Genma and Ataru.   
  
From out of nowhere Bastet appeared with a camcorder in hand to record Genma falling into the pit of cats while somehow managing to flail his arms about, coincidentally throwing Ranma to safety, before gravity   
exerted its will. Beside that image appeared one of Ataru as he rubbed his head and looked about to see what had hit him only to find a rather large hole in his favorite pin-up poster and the wall behind it. If anything he managed to scream louder then Genma.   
  
---------------------------------   
  
Claudis struggled to stand, before him the demon had only taken a few hits that had inflicted relatively minor damage. Around them the unconscious bodies of the other Thundercats decorated the barren landscape.   
  
Directly behind the demon stood the remains of the small farming town that the newly awakened demon had destroyed. From within some of the crumbled buildings the sounds of the wounded and dying could be heard.   
And through one of the windows the face of a small child could just be seen.   
  
Claudis held his sword before him, waiting for an opening to strike. During the first battle with the demon it had used its armored arms to protect its soft chest and belly while anyone seeking to harm/kill it had been struck down with one of its many different elemental attacks.   
  
"GIVE UP THUNDERCAT! NONE OF YOUR COMERADES COULD HARM ME, AND THAT PITIFUL SWORD OF YOURS HAS FAILED TO EVEN SCRATCH ME. IF YOU SURRENDER I PROMISE TO MAKE YOUR DEATH, AND YOUR FRIENDS DEATH'S, PAINLESS."   
  
Claudis could see Jagey-o coming to behind the demon.   
  
"Never demon. I would have to be a fool to be afraid of you since it is you who is afraid of me!"   
  
The demon rose from its half crouch, nearly doubling its height as it raored at the Thundercat. "WHAT!?!"   
  
"AAAHHH!!!" Claudis charged the demon that once again fell into its defensive half crouch but before it could begin to defend itself the other thundercat suddenly leaped on its back. Giving Claudis the distraction he needed. WHile the demon batted fuitily at Jagey-o, Claudis lunged at the demons soft midsection to thrust the sword into the demons heart.   
  
"NNNNOOOOO!!!!" Jumping to its full height the demon managed to puch away Claudis while somehow leaving the sword imbedded in its heart. The action also threw Jagey-o to the ground where the demon finally got a glimpse of its assailent.   
  
"Y-Y-YOU!....." Staggering it fell beside the unconscious Thundercat, with one clawed hand it grabbed the thundercats neck. "I-ILL, T-T..AKE......YO..U......WITH...ME!" The demon suddenly began to glow as both it and the thundercat screamed in pain before they both lay on the ground, lifeless.   
  
The demons corpse had disintegrated, its body turning to sand that was blown away by a sudden gust of wind. The other Thundercats clustered around their fallen comerade.   
  
"I cant find any pulse, Im afraid he's dead."   
  
"But it didnt physically kill him, look at his neck. Its not broken! Isnt there something we can do!?"   
  
Claudis put his hand on the young boys shoulder and gently pulled him away from the body. Waving the other Thundercats away he pulled the Sword of Omens from its holder and held it before his eyes. "Sword of   
Omens, give me site beyond site! Let me see if my friend is truly dead."   
  
The swords eye glowed hotly as CLaudis's eyes stared on, enhanced by the swords power until he could see into realms no mortal eye was meant to see. Atlast, with sweat pouring from his forehead he put the sword   
away and shook his head. The Thundercats and the surviving villagers gathered around the body for a moment of peace. Within the group small boy going by the name Lynxo stared hard at the body, burning the image into his mind.   
  
-------------------------------------------------------   
  
A moments struggle to keep conscious ended as his world became one of unending pain, each nerve in his body screaming out in agony. It felt like it had gone on foreever while his every attempt to stop the pain and   
or get away had failed as his body had failed to respond. Then......   
  
Then nothing, absolutely nothing. All sensation had been lost, from touch and smell to taste and hearing....and finally, though worst of all...sight. For some unknown span of time he existed like that until all thoughts as to his identity and past left his mind as the void that was now his existence overcame his fragile mind. Second by second he relived his life beginning from the moment he died then going backwards, unliving each and every moment as those memories faded away to nothing but pinpricks within his mind to taunt him of what might have been, second became hours that turned into days and then weeks then months and years. Everytime he could tear himself away from the memory dissolving before his minds eye to ponder why they were being lost in such a fashion something else would interfere and distract him long enough for the thought to slip his mind like so much else.   
  
When his consciousness had faded away to nothing all that was left behind were the primal instincts, yet without understanding the creature, the entity that was Jagey-o, sought to strike out at its prison, furiously   
beating at the unseen walls around it with all the power anf fury it could wield. And yet its roars of defience and hatred would never be heard by any organic beings, despite that its struggle against its invisible bonds continued as it drifted further through the folds of space and time.   
  
Then...one day after a painful impact from some unknown source....HE WAS FREE! He felt a weakness near him and leaped for it as fast as he could. The weakness proved to have some resistance but a casual flick of   
the claws removed the impediment and allowed him to leave his prison.   
  
But something was wrong, his senses had been dulled, his claws no longer there, in their place were small delicate fingers that were bleeding from several cuts. Sniffing he caught the scent of his new enemies and with a hiss he was on them, through them and out of the pit.   
  
-------------------------------------------------------   
  
~Years later. June 3, 1987 Nerima, Japan   
  
Sleep. The final frontier, atleast for this period for one student named Ranma Saotome. He slept like a log, and around his head were the awards to prove it as everything from chalkboard erasers to pens, compass's.   
notebooks and finally some rather heavy books on probability theory had been thrown at him in an attempt to wake him. Every tactic had been used. All had failed. Behind him several students had been nailed by such objects and were now out cold.   
  
"....MAGIC!"   
  
"Huh? Wha...."   
  
Maybe not ALL of them   
  
Hinako had to resist the impulse to smile, instead she read out from the book about King Arthurs court, making sure to highlight the parts about Merlin and his suposed abilities. Amazingly enough it actually kept Ranma awake, though the vacant stare was beginning to scare her a bit. Maybe she should just drain his chi and get it over with?   
  
---------------------------------------------------   
  
The school bell rang, signaling the begining of the lunch period. Immediately students poured out from the doors of the school, intent on enjoying their meals in the good weather that seldom came to Nerima. Behind them Ranma walked out of the school with his bento in hand, stumbling slightly and cursing under his breath for letting Hinako get the drop on him.   
  
Under the shade of a reasonably healthy tree he began the tedious task of trying to feed himself, around him some of the students looked at him with sympathy but took it in stride just thankful that it wasnt them that   
had gotten on Hinako's bad side. All in all it was an amazinely peaceful day.   
  
"What a haul! What a haul!" The cry came from Bill Gates as he ran out of the school with a sackful of money, I tell a lie, it was actually Happosie with a sackful of lady's underwear. Said pervert was presently being chased by a mob of girls from each and every part of the school, even the girls that were part of the Chemistry Club as was seen from the explosions caused by the small vials they threw at the little pervert.   
  
Ranma took one look at the mob and rolled his eyes upward. "Great, whats next!?"   
  
Focusing on the study guide in front of him instead of the fight occuring not more then ten feet away he heard the overly familiar 'How sweet!' by Happosai, which was then followed by the combined indignant cries of   
almost every female student, which was then followed by a taunt from Happosie, and that was answered with some random object thrown by one of the girls that managed to hit and disorient the aged pervert long enough   
for Hinako to join in. At this point Ranma looked up from the study guide to see that Hinako was again a little girl and managed to see her use her usual Happo-gen move on Happosie. After that the girls beat on him for a while before finnaly batting him into LEO   
  
All in all it was turning out to be a rather peaceful day. Ranma read a few more pages before idly reaching over to snag a piece of food.   
  
Now if only the food would stop moving!   
  
"Dont eat me!"   
  
Blinking several times he looked down at what he had thought was a porkbun to discover Happosie's head. He gave a short scream before throwing the old pervert away. Unfortunately Happosie managed to land right on top of Ranma's study guide. As he proceded to dust himself off he looked down at the flimsy bookelt while Ranma tried not to be violently ill at what had too nearly happened.   
  
"Whats this? So, boy, your learning about Arthur are ya. That punk had no appreciation for the finer things in life. And Merlin! If I ever find that damm wizard Ill...!"   
  
Ranma inturrupted with a raised eyebrow. "You 'knew' Merlin?"   
  
Happosie seemed to come out of his little flashback to notice Ranma's skectical look. "Eeeh? Sort of, damm punk. He ALWAYS ruined my fun!"   
  
Ranma continued to listen to Happsoai rant on, catching the occasional words like "magic" and "shape change" among others that immediately perked his interest. Slowly, ever so slowly an idea began to form, amidst the failed attempts at an easy cure this one felt like it had a chance.   
  
Overhead clouds began to gather, ruining the good weather and setting a more ominous mood.   
  
-------------------------------------------------------------------   
  
~August 3, 1987   
  
Leaping from his bedroom window to the stone wall encircling the Tendo homes house as silently as possible he made the short jump to the ground before running off as fast as possible for the outskirts of Nerima.   
  
Already he could feel his danger sense going off like mad, alerting him that someone was in the area that either wanted to date him or kill him and right now both were threats to his continued survival and, more importantly, to the plans survival. He ducked down a few smaller then average alleys, through several sections of apartment housing that had been destroyed several days ago. Along the way he made sure to miss all the even street lights while running directly under all the odd street lights to confuse anyone that might be following him.   
  
Suddenly he heard a crash behind him, like someone hitting a trashcan. He ran harder now, driving down the impulse to take to the roofs for fear of who or what it might be. His heart was hammering in his chest, around   
him the sudden darkness of Nerima's outskrits felt like it was full of eyes, eyes that were watching him do everything he could to get away if just for a little while. Hiding behind a copse of trees he looked back at where the road ended in a ragged jumble of concrete, gravel and dirt.   
  
Waiting anxiously for the first sign that someone had been following him, looking for a shadow, a blur of movement to suddenly dart forth from inside Nerima to get him and drag him back kicking and screaming before he could get his cure!   
  
After several minutes of silent watching he sighed in relief before reaching into his pack to pull out the Nan-Ban mirror. After making sure the mirror hadnt been damaged by his hasty exit he reached back and fumbled around for the onion he had brought along. Rubbing said onion in his eye he spoke the words he had carefully thought out.   
  
"Take me to Merlin when he was alive and at the peak of his power."   
  
The flash of light was blinding in its intensity and proximity, as before all he could do was try to close his eyes against the painfully bright light and wait for it to end as everything around him changed and shifted from the Present to some unknown point in the Past.   
  
-------------------------------------------------------   
  
~England   
  
Merlin stepped out of the portal into dusk with the sun just setting before a ragged line of darkening clouds overhead. In one hand he held the sword Excalibur while he pondered the site of his return tomake sure that everything was as it should have been, behind him the portal coninued to emit a small bluish light from within the confines of its space warping geometry.   
  
Off in the distance Ranma flashed into being. With a wild eyed look he spied Merlin and started running toward him, the mirror in his hands began to emit a very soft glow of its own that continue to brighten as   
Ranma got closer to the person he sought. For some reason Ranma couldnt understand as he got closer to Merlin the bluish circle would come between them and hide the man from his sight. It wasnt until he got   
closer that he realized that the portal was actually heading toward him.   
  
A bright flash of lightning drew Merlins attention back to the portal he had used and with a disgusted sigh at his own failing memory he closed the portal before anyone could be harmed, not once did he bother to look   
inside the portal, or wonder why it had semed to be moving very slowly away from him.   
  
-----------------------------------------------   
  
"NONONONO! DAMMIT NNNOOO!!" He'd been so close, so very close! But like every other opportunity something had to happen.   
  
The corridor of the portal lay before him, the end that had swallowed him was gone and quite some distance down the tunnel he could distinguish a bright speck of light amongst the pail blue walls of the tunnel. As he   
stared at the point of light he saw that is was steadily getting larger, or closer, as he tumbled toward it.   
  
Kicking at the closest side of the tunel he tried to stop his motion but only succeded in making himself spin and lose all orientation in the strange place. In his hands the mirror's glow turned from soft white to dark red, its frame soon taking on that color before Ranma realized what was happening and threw it away in reflex.   
  
"SHIT!" He cried out as the mirror tumbled away from him, its deep red glow brightening for a moment before the mirror was gone. With a sickening lurch felt in his stomach the point of light ahead of him suddenly increased in size and intensity.   
  
"WHAT NOW?!" He managed to scream out as the point of light engulfed him.   
  
-------------------------------------------------   
  
~August 4, 1987   
  
The following day in Nerima, after Ranma's night departure, saw several students walking along a shortcut to the school on the fine summer day. Overhead the birds were singing and for once the sounds of major   
fighting could not be heard. It was one of those very rare peaceful moments.   
  
One of the students noticed something sparkiling in a ditch and on a impulse he reached out and withdrew a mirror. Besides the few cracks it was brand new and the frame looked like it had been replaced the day before.   
  
"I can use this for art class."   
  
With a smile on his face Makoto put the mirror into his pack and resumed walking toward school.   
  
----------------------------------------------   
  
~August 4, year unknown. Third Earth.   
  
Sunlight filtered through lush green leaves sparkled before his eyes. With a groan Ranma managed to sit up, noticing as he did so that he had been laying in a circle of burned grass. At the same time he noticed that his clothes had become slightly singed, in most places disintegrating into powder, leaving behind small holes.   
  
The first few minutes were spent making sure that nothing else had happened to him, no serious injuries, nothing missing or somehow being added. Then with a barely audible grunt he stood up and looking up at   
the sun started down one of the few paths open through the forest that offered the least resistance and hopefully leading to civilization. In one hand he held the ragged tatters of his backpack and those belongings   
that had somehow survived.   
  
The trail ended before the forest did, forcing him to go through the thick foliage. Some way through the thick forest growth he found a small statue, after that many more and signs of buildings that had decayed long ago, some of these signs were nothing more then slightly raised stone foundations while others took the form of small stepped pyramids with cracks and vines running up and through each and every stone of the structure. Other structures MUCH more advanced as they were covered in what appeared to have been domes of clear plastic, then there were the smaller structures arrayed around these buildings that he couldnt even try to figure out.   
  
For an hour he searched further into the ruins, hoping to find SOME people about but as he searched more and more of the delapidated buildings he hope quietly died at the prospect of finding ANYONE, especially a human still alive in this place, and, a small portion of his mind taunted back, even if they are human they must be savages to let a city like this go to ruin. But with his supplies gone and all the plants of this forest so alien to his eyes his only hope lay in finding some help else he would have to test each and every plant he found all the while hoping that he hadnt eaten some sort of super poison.   
  
At the end of his search he came to a beach which had what appeared to be the remains of some monument on it, though he wasnt too sure it looked like a giant green metal head and hand holding what appeared to be a   
torch was the only part that survived. Upon seeing it he knew he'd seen it before but for the life of him he couldnt dredge up the memory, only a wierd feeling.   
  
"Why do I have the sudden urge to say: 'Damm you dirty apes!' ?" Ranma asked no one in particular.   
  
Shrugging his shoulders he went back into the forest to get out of the oppressive summer heat.   
  
---------------------------------------------   
  
~Mirimers Well   
  
Lone Wolf looked at the image of the arm and torch bearing hand of the statue of liberty with wide eyes.   
  
Great Fox looked at everyone around the Well with an angry expression. "Alright! Who put those there?"   
  
Rem was the only diety acting differently as he had his head turned away from the Well while whistling to himself and tossing some object into the air. Lone chuckled at the display while Great Fox glared at him and   
Tolitair tried to pull the miniturized statue away from him.   
  
"It was a joke, ah dont do that!" Pulling simultaneously both entities managed to dislodge the small statue and drop it into the Well.   
  
Rem. "Where'd it go?"   
  
Lone Wolf stared at his companion for a moment before replying. "Not in our entry,....."   
  
"Whew."   
  
".......it landed in the Skysaber timeline."   
  
Rem gulped loudly as the clouds of impending doom gathered over his head.   
  
------------------------------------------------------   
  
~August 4th, Third Earth   
  
He was surounded, no matter where he turned there would be more enemies for him to fight through, and yet the longer he watched the closer they got.   
  
With a lunge Lion-O forced one of his attackers back with is sword as he fought for more space to fight in. But that wouldnt be enough, not with thirty enemies about and their unknown weapons. Knowing enough   
not to just ask them what they were trying to do to him he just kept fighting for space. The first oppenent he had leveled with the flat side of his blade got up while he was leveling another attacker to reach around and lock his mechanical/organic arms around lion-O's neck. With a twisting motion he threw Lion-O to the ground with such force that the thundercat leader slid several feet through the tall grass until another attacker gave him a kick in the ribs to arrest his motion.   
  
Getting up he eyed that first attacker again, somewhat aware of the others pressing close behind him he saw his only chance and ran at the creature, again it got a hold of his neck and sent him skidding across the ground but added to Lion-O's running speed to begin with he was thrown/slid clear of all the attackers.   
  
"I need help, otherwise....Thunder! Thunder! Thunder! Thundercats ho!" SMirking at his attackers he brought the sword down to point it at them. "Lets see how you fight with more evened odds."   
  
"We fight quite well, especially with the right bait." A cold emotionless voice said from behind the thundercat.   
  
Before Lion-O could make any sense of that statement everything around him suddenly faded into the perpetual darkness of unconsciousness.   
  
------------------------------------------------------   
  
"Damm thorns!" Ranma exclaimed as he tried to swat away the offending bush while only succeding in entangling one of his arms into the strong vines which the thorns sprouted from. His clothes, already torn   
and full of holes from his trip through the strange portal, were now hanging off him in tatters, underneath the skin that hadnt been lightly burned by the the same portal now sported lots of small cuts and scrapes from some of the planets least forgettable plant life. Yet despite the thorns and the small annoying animals that kept trying to grab or bite the tatters of his backpack he still managed to pull through the last of the bushes onto the bare earth path beyond.   
  
Taking a random direction he started walking. Despite the place's inate beauty he'd grown quite weary of it when some of the plants and animals had sought to either trap him and or take little bites out of him. He   
hoped the road would lead to someplace more civilized then this, but given the way the cuts from those thorn vines were starting to itch like mad he'd be content just staying on the road for several hours. Odd though, if the plants werent going after his clothes half as much as they were going for him then he wouldnt mind so much, it'd almost be like fighting those dishes Akane cooked back in Nerima, well......atleast the ones that couldnt talk of taking over the world. Giving himself a mental shake followed by several slaps to the face he stopped that line of thought.   
  
"Great, now Im reminiscing about Akane's cooking, brrrrr." At about that same time in Nerima a tomboy sneezed.   
  
All he knew for sure at the moment was that he was totally alone and for every thing he knew, which was admittedly small in some respects, he may be the only human being on this Earth. Instead of mulling over that   
point he instead increased his pace along the dirt road until coming to a clear path overgrown with grass but still showing signs of being kept clear by whoever used it.   
  
Up ahead he heard a commotion coming toward him. Looking about at all of the thorn bushes lining the path he jumped up into one of the trees, all the while hoping it wouldnt try to eat him like everything else.   
  
After a few moments he heard some shouting before several figures appeared below his hiding spot. One of them appeared to be a monkey? With a length of rope leading from one of its hands to several   
people/creatures that were bound and gagged where it was tied to the collars around their necks. From beyond his veiwing angle Ranma heard a voice.   
  
"Monkeyin you idiot! Just look at these slaves, barely any of them are fit to walk let along work!"   
  
The monkey looked back the way he had come and started hollering back. "Ooh, ooh if you....hadnt scared off the others from the traps Vultureman set up we wouldnt have had to catch any at all!!!"   
  
Suddenly the branch he had been sitting on disintegrated into a hail of splinters as Ranma fell to the ground. Waving away the annying fragments of wood he looked for whoever had fired at him. Their....beyond the last   
slave, grinning.....looking......LIKE A CAT!   
  
"You see Monkeyin? This is how you catch slaves, just give them good enough reason to fear you and they'll do anything!"   
  
"Oooh, ooh, whats he saying?"   
  
"Who cares! Lets just catch him."   
  
By now Ranma had stopped jibbering in fear, he had also stopped standing on two legs, instead opting for going on all fours with a hiss at Jackelman as he brought out a net. A mouse, when cornered will fight for its very survival, but in this case the personality of the Neko-ken wasnt too worried about survival. In a wway it could gauge the power of whoever it faced and the two stinking creatures in front of it didnt rate very highly at all.   
  
The battle, if one could call it that despite how brief it was, was also incredibly violent as Neko-Ranma chased Monkeyin and Jackelman like a pair of mice around the bewildered slaves. With a quick slash of his claws both mutants weapons became little peices of scrap along with some of their body armor. Several more slashes shaved Jackelmans head completely bald while Monkeyin got several lone lines of fur shaved away   
from his back. after about half an hour of screams, cursing, escaping slaves, and....shaving, Neko-Ranma got tired of the game and let them run off......unfortunately they ran off the edge of a local bottomless pit.   
  
Neko-Ranma paused long enough to collect his burned packpack in his mouth before running off on all fours.   
  
Further down the path Neko-Ranma took a side path upon smelling food. It was about at that same time that he was hit with some cold water from above. The now female Ranma looked around dazedly at her surroundings, spitting out her burned backpack Ranma-chan stood upand looked around again, wondering what wierd thing had spit water on her. Seeing nothing that looked like the culprit she started walking while keeping her wits about her.   
  
A second later Ranma-chan was hit with some VERY hot water, that caused the now male Ranma to look around in confusion for a second before he heard something moving around in the tree above him.   
  
Up in the trees several Amazons scouts started arguing on how not to waste water by tripping and splashing their comerades.   
  
Muttering darkly to himself Ranma ran from that spot, not wanting to find out what was throwing water at him, in doing so he totally missed the signs of habitation among the trees he passed under, or the several Amazons that were now arguing with eachother over who would follow this stranger and make sure he left their territory.   
  
A bright flash in the sky caught everyones attention as they looked up to see the Thundercat symbol high in the sky. Below the Amazons a confused martial artist for reasons unknown started running toward the source   
of the signal, fearing that he would be too late but at the same time unable to understand why he was feeling afraid. Unbeknownst to him his normally blue eyes briefly glowed yellow as he started out.   
  
-------------------------------------------   
  
The trap had been sprun under perfect conditions, better then the captain had ever expected to occur. Watching his men round up the other thundercats and place them in the specialy created holding area he felt   
a pang of regret at not being able to test any of the other weapons that had been brought along for other contingencies. It was odd though, he had a feeling that he was mising something but he couldnt quite put his   
finger on it. He knew that all of the thundercats had been accounted for, as well as their snarf. He frowned deeper as he checked the display console built into his arm bracer to confirm that all of the sound dampeners that had been installed around the clearing were still working. Odd......   
  
"Captain, sir! The Thundercats have all been rounded up."   
  
"And their weapons?"   
  
"All accounted for sir!"   
  
The captain smiled at the eagerness of his second in command. When they sold those Thundercats to the buyers he along with his entire crew would be wealthy enough to retire for life and then some. Looking at the   
Sword of Omens in the cargo crate along with the rest of the Thundercat weapons his eyes filled with greed. One of the other buyers that had contacted him as he was entering the planets atmosphere promised to pay a   
very large sum for just that sword. But first things first.   
  
"Tell the men to prepare to pull out. Load everything else besides the thundranium ray and the portable generator into the ship, check everything before stowing it away. Do you understand me?"   
  
His second in command saluted with a 'Sir, yes sir!' before leaving him to his own thoughts. Immediately the other men who had until now been standing easy now went into a flurry of activity as they hastily moved all the equipement back into the ship.   
  
Moving amid the procession of men and equipement he walked to the edge of the Thundercat confinement area. Inside the area those Thundercats that were still conscious struggled to crawlout from under the field of   
fire from the thundranium ray, to stop them from doing so a clear translucent dome of heavy had been put over them, several holes had been drilled into the top of the dome to allow the air to circulate inside as it simply wouldnt do for any of them to die.   
  
Until after they were sold of course.   
  
"Must....get......"   
  
The captain looked down to see the leader of the thundercats trying to crawl his way out from under the rays area of fire.   
  
"I wouldnt bother if I were you, but luckily Im not you. Hehe, you'll have more success catching some sleep until your sold to one of the buyers. Now, now, glaring at me wont help you anymore then crawling along the dirty ground was. Given how perfect this trap was set up there wont be any help coming from anyone..."   
  
"Sir!"   
  
The captain turned around to see his second in command. "All of the equipement has been checked and stowed away, shall we move the thundercats now?"   
  
"Your sure you checked everything? I was expecting you to take another hour or two before finishing with all of the equipement. I hope this doesnt mean that some of the men shirked their orders in order to get off   
this primitive planet." He added with a bit of malice, accordingly his second in command paled in rememberence of what the captain had done to those men who didnt perform up to his expectations.   
  
"N-No sir. Im sure they did everything by the book."   
  
"For your sake you had better be right, otherwise...." He left the sentence uncompleted as it made all those he used it on think of all the horrible things he could do to them. The long voyage to this world had given him ample opportunity to enforce discipline upon his crew. But for now he felt too euphoric. Nothing could ruin his good mood, nothing.   
  
"HIYA!"   
  
The captain turned around to see a black and red blur cut a swath through his men before running over to the transparent dome. Before his startled eyes the red and black blur resolved into a young man that then punched the dome so many times that his hands and arms became a blur to his eyes. Within moments one side of the dome had been shattered and he was off with two of the thundercats, one under each arm.   
  
"GET HIM!"   
  
Three of his less experiencced men jumped on the young man in an attempt to overpower him long enough for others to help them subdue him. Unfortunately the young man managed to kick the front two away with his   
legs while still keeping hold of the two Thundercats, the third man got behind him long enough to wrap his hands around the young mans throat. With a grunt the young man snapped his head back to break the nose of the third man, sending him sprawling into the Thundranium Ray.   
  
"NO!"   
  
But it was already too late, the ray swiveled until it was focused on the young man who didnt show any effect but the captains real attention was focused on the other thundercats under the dome who were beginning to get their strength back.   
  
"YOU FOOLS! GET THE WEAPONS OR ILL SKIN YOUR HIDES!" The captain roared out over the din of chaos. At that moment several more thundercats joined the fray to knock out more of his men before heading for his ship.   
  
Before hed had months to plan this trap while his moles dug up every bit of information related to Thundercat biology and tactics to give him the knowledge needed to exploit every one of their weaknesses and then some.   
The sound dampeners in the forest were to make sure that no passers by would hear the sound of battle, while the Thundranium Ray which had cost him a small fortune to acquire was used on each and every Thundercat   
to render them too weak to fight back as his men disarmed them. Lookingback from the terrible battle where his men were being pulverised he saw the Thundranium Ray begin to smoke and throw off small electrical   
bolts every second or two from its focusing electronics. Twitching slightly it was all the captain could do as the valuable, and highly expensive, weapon blew up. Consequently the power cable leading from the smkong remains of the Thundranium Ray also began to smoke before vaporizing in a flash and cloud of smoke, a second later the auxilary power generator from his ship which was being used to power the weapon also blew up.   
  
"Jus......jus..like Gamora 7......AAAAAHHHHH!!!!" The captain ran into the middle of the fight where the young man continued to pummel at his crew while carrying the two thundercats under his arms. Knocking aside two of his own crew he reached out for the throat of the young man.   
  
Ranma grimaced as he hit another man with his knee, for once he wished he could hit them somewhere that wasnt covered with metal plating. From his left he saw a strange looking man charge him, about the same time he felt the two people he was carrying start to come around. Smirking he jumped ontop of the mans head before leaping the rest of the way to the edge of the forest away from the battle.   
  
The captain, seeing his quary getting away was about to give chase until he heard something....something very familiar yet he couldnt quite place it. It almost sounded like metal being torn up....where was it coming   
from.   
  
From out of the mercenary ships cargo hold something exploded out amid a hail of metallic shards, that revealed itself as the Thundertank as the protective cover over the drivers side came down and the back bay opened up to admit several more Thundercats. Within moments all of his men were running away in fear from the tanks laser cannons.   
  
The captain fell to his knees with a strangled cry, looking at his ship, or rather the big hole in what was supposed to be the seamless skin of one wall of the storage bay while ignoring everything else around him.   
"M-My ship.............my.....beautiful..........ship....." For a moment the Thundertank crossed his field of vision while it chased half his crew around the forest clearing. After a few moments the captains second in command approached him.   
  
"Sir, what should we do?" The second waited a moment, when the captain didnt speak he gave the captain a little nudge. The captain fell over, when his head hit the ground he started saying the word 'ship' over and   
over again.   
  
Across the clearing the two thundercats that Ranma had saved were coming to, the sight that greeted them upon regaining conscience was Ranma fighting off several men at once. After several punches to the face   
one of the men was knocked out of the fight but the other two just just jumped him. With several high powered kicks both attackers were sent to the ground some distance away allowing Ranma to turn around and look at the two thundercats he had saved. Hmmm, they were female and one of them was turning red so maybe she was getting sick? Then he looked closer and saw their eyes, then he noticed their unusual ears and a certain fear began to work its way through his mind.   
  
Both Cheetarah and Pumyra got puzzled when he siezed upon looking at them. They were equally surprised to see him blur and disappear leaving behind a trail of dust.   
  
"Cheetarah, Pumyra! Are you alright?"   
  
--------------------------------------   
  
Mum-Ra stood before his pool of bubbling stuff, for a moment wondering for the first time what was actually in it but quickly disregarding the question as immaterial as he was a villian.....and because he was afraid to ask the ancient spirits of evil. The last time he'd asked them a question they turned him into a disgustingly cute creature and made him tend to some fields of growing candy, he/it still shuddered at those memories.   
  
To distract his mind he bade the pool of......stuff......to show him some part of the world, particularly something that would interest him. After a few minutes of switching from different views of the planet, from the deepest part of the planets ocean to its highest peak the pool stopped on the image of a young man running through some forest.   
  
"Whats this?"   
  
Before he could will the view to change he saw something overshadow the mans body for a brief second, too short for him to catch any details but within another moment the ghostly apparition appeared again allowing Mum-Ra to see it clearly. His eyes widened at the faint image of a Thundercat appeared quite distinctly.   
  
"Curious. Though I may be able to find a use for this creature. Hehehehe!"   
  
When he called forth the power from the Ancient Spirits he didnt notice the statues smile, besides they couldnt smile, so it must have been a trick of the shadows.   
  
-------------------------------------   
  
"*pant* Heh....*pant*...heh....I made it, no....*pant.....c-c-c-c..creatures here!" He leaned over to catch his breath better, for some reason he felt quite a bit weaker then he should have been, though he had managed to run for atleast a half hour, possibly more. The clearing looked safe to rest in for a while. Thats when a shadow dscended over him. Ranma looked up and blanched at the site that greeted his eyes. "Great, another old mummy."   
  
For the first time in his life Mum-Ra facefaulted, a condition wholly unique but that didnt stop him from getting back up and assuming the villians pose in an act of bravado. "Fool! Do you think petty insults will defeat Mum-Ra the everliving?" Without waiting for an answer he struck out with a magical blast that destroyed the ground Ranma was standing on. As the smoke cleared there was no sign left of the martial artist.   
  
The sound of knuckles being cracked one by one got Mum-Ra's attention as he looked up to see Ranma crouching on his head with a grin on his face.   
  
"Bring it on!"   
  
-------------------------------------   
  
Pumyra shook her head slightly from side to side before trying to get up. "Were fine Lion-O. Just a bit dizzy. Who was that?" Standing strait she had to lean against the tree til the planet stopped spinning around her.   
  
Cheetarah joined Pumyra a second later and pointed towards the trial of dust that was quickly dissapating before their eyes.   
  
Tygra frowned slightly. "I dont know, did he hurt you?"   
  
Cheetarah shook her head and tried to hide her blush. "No. But I have a feeling that we should find him before anything happens."   
  
With some help from Lynxo and Tygra, Cheetarah and Pumyra managed to climb into the back of the Thundertank.   
  
Within moments all of them were aboard the Thundertank and speeding off without a backward glance at the beaten/mauled crew of the ship or that crews captain.   
  
After a few minutes the captain got up and started looking around with a crazed look in his eyes. "Yes.....yes.....first Ill find that little pest......THEN ILL HAVE MY REVENGE! AHAHAHAHA!!!" The crew, insensate for the most part could only groan at what lay ahead.   
  
-----------------------------------   
  
The Thundetank rumbled through the forest as it knocked down everything in its path. Trees that had taken centuries to grow to something approaching ther full height were reduced to piles of wood chips in seconds.   
  
"Blast it! How are we supposed to find him in this?"   
  
Lion-O. "Well just have to keep a look out."   
  
Wilykit and Willykat leaned over to either side of Lion-O. "We can search for him on the hover boards! We could look ahead and radio back what we find."   
  
Panthero punched several buttons and frowned at the data that came up. "You better check those boards. Those raiders back their damaged one of the Thundertanks treads, theres no telling what else they might have damaged until we get back to Cats L..."   
  
Before Panthero could finish Willykit and Willykat sped ahead of the Thundertank yelling back 'They seem to work fine to us' before disappearing above the thick jungle canopy.   
  
No sooner had they gotten above tree level then Willykat turned to Willykit. "How are we supposed to know where to look?"   
  
Willykit smiled and shrugged her shoulders. "I dont know, just look for a sign I guess."   
  
Suddenly in the distance a great tornado sprang into existence, within it they could almost see something getting tossed about before being shot off toward the horizon. Seeing this the two quickly radiod the Thundertank before charging ahead.   
  
---------------------------------   
  
Many, many miles away Mum-Ra landed with a wet splat upon his own pyramid, creating a impression several inches deep. What strength he could have spared to promise eternal pain upon Ranma was taken up when a errant gust of wind dislodged him from his landing spot and caused him to tumble all the way from the tip of his pyramid to some primitive ruins below with another wet splat.   
  
---------------------------------   
  
The entities assembled around the Well looked at Lone Wolf and Rem with a questioning glance. Rem smiled and nodded his head toward Lone Wolf.   
  
Lone Wolf responded with an upraised hand. "Its all in the wrist." He said with a jubilent smile before looking from the assembled entities to the image in the Well.   
  
---------------------------------   
  
~Cats Lair, Infirmery   
  
Pumyra as one of the more recovered Thundercats tended to the strangers wounds while he slept, or atleast she would have been if certain other thoughts hadnt inturrupted her minstrations. Most of these thoughts   
concerned how she saw him fight off those pirates to save her and Cheetarah, true the other Thundercats would have done the same but it was rare that another person of yet another species should actually try to help them out in such a situation. And then, there was something else. The way he had moved during the fight had been so familiar but she couldnt quite see why it should.   
  
Then there was the obvious fact that her 'patient' wasnt wearing much of anything, just enough to be modest, if you were planning to swim that is. The shirt, or atleast she thought it had been a shirt, was a total write off, as were the pants though something of those might be salvaged but she didnt know what thread it was made of. Pushing these thoughts aside she took a damp rag and began to clean the worst of the patients injuries which consisted of either bruises or small yet deep cuts. The area they had found him in looked like it had been through a small war, every tree within a ten meter circle had been pulled out of the ground and dropped in a massive tangle of roots and branches.   
  
Hearing a slight whimper she pulled the bandage away from one of he nastier cuts to see that her patients eyes were opening.   
  
Of everything she had been expecting a scream of terror had not been one of them.   
  
---------------------------------   
  
~Cats Lair, Conference Room   
  
"Did they leave any evidence behind of who they were, or where they came from?" Lion-O asked Panthero.   
  
"No, there was some debris but none of it particualarly unique. One things for certain Lion-O, they couldnt have been average pirates. They knew too much about our strengths and weaknes's to start off with, then theres the specialized equipement they had like the Thundranium Ray. There are just too many coincidences for me to believe that they're regular pirates who just chose to attack this world."   
  
"Then they'll come back, once they've reorganized."   
  
"Possibly. Then theres the young man that came to our rescue, without his help we could'nt have escaped, but these people are too dangerous to ignore so well have to be more careful in the future. Though Im still a bit skeptical about that young man, it just seems too much like coincidence for him to happen upon us just when we needed help....."   
  
Just then all in the conference room heard the terrified scream. Sitting up they ran out the door toward the infirmery with Lion-O last. Lion-O stopped though as a pale blue haze appeared before him, taking the form of Jaga.   
  
"Do not attack the human Lion-O. Instead look with the Sword of Omens to see what you truly face." With that cryptic message Jaga began to disappear just as Lion-O reached out toward the ghost.   
  
"Jaga!"   
  
"Use the sword Lion-O....."   
  
Trying to assimilate the new information Lion-O double timed it to the infirmery where he found the other Thundercats forming a rough circle with the human in the middle, oddly enough, the human was crouched on all fours with his back to Pumyra while hissing and reaching out with its hands almost as if to claw at them when it suddenly hit Lion-O that the human was acting like a cat! Moving forward cautiously he got past Cheetara and (?) when Panthero motioned him away.   
  
"Get back Lion-O! He can cut you even from here." For emphasis he held up his pair of nun-chucks to show the four parallel scratches that had been made in the tough metal.   
  
"Dont worry." Saying nothing more, or rather not quite sure what else to say Lion-O proceeded to move forward a bit more until he was several feet from the human who looked at him strangely before hissing and arching its back. Lion-O only stood still while staring at the human in the hopes that it would calm down, with Pumyra behind it he could attack the human for fear of harming her, and if it attacked him then it might get away and they might have to chase it through the rest of Cats Lair. Making sure that the human could see that both of his hands were empty he slowly walked forward.   
  
Ranma-neko stared at the cat before him, conflicting thoughts were raging through his mind, muddling his responses even as the cat stepped forward. One part of his mind wanted to lash out and strike the impudant male but it was held back by another part of the mind that had locked his eyes on the sword. Confused and outnumbered he could only stare at the cat approach him.   
  
"Pumyra, are you alright?"   
  
Pumyra took her eyes off of Ranma and nodded once for yes before slowly getting up off the floor.   
  
Seeing that she was okay Lion-O slowly took his sword out. "Sword of Omens, give me sight beyond sight." As ordered the sword extended forth its own senses at the human, showing Lion-O the crouching human's body overlaid by...something, focusing on the image he tried to will the sword to focus on it.   
  
"Lion-O, whats wrong?"   
  
"I-I dont know, I can see him, but Im also seeing the image of a Thundercat. But its hard to see, like its a..a ghost." Studying the apparition before him Lion-O tried to come up with a solution to the problem but without knowing the cause of this behaviour he couldnt even try to guess. But the Thundercat apparition had only been visible with the help of the sword, which meant that it woudnt be easily detectable with the technology they had, maybe the Robears.......the sword.   
  
"Stand back, Im going to try something."   
  
Before Lion-O the human continued to stare him but its hissing and clawing gestures had ceased. When Lion-O made to strike with the sword Ranma-neko moved away, meowing weakly as he backed away with his stomach to the floor in a show of submission.   
  
Lion-O held the sword pointed at Ranma, hoping that what he was about to do didnt make matters worse. "Thunder! Thunder! Thundercats, ho!"   
  
The Sword of Omens emmitted a burst of light powerful enough to blind all those in the room and as the afterimages of the swords light show faded they found the human unconscious on the floor.   
  
When both Pumyra and Cheetarah rolled him onto his back to check   
him they were amazed to find out that Ranma's body had changed, his facial features were different with his ears a bit longer and pointed at their tops while a quick examination of his eyes showed the pupils to have changed from their normal circle to a slit like their own eyes, though still blue if not a shade darker they also sported a gold ring around each iris. Besides the obvious changes to his face they saw further changes in his musculature, though less obvious at first, it made him look more mature...   
  
Hearing a slight cough behind them Pumyra and Cheetarah blushed when they realized that they had been staring at Ranma without saying so much as a word.   
  
---------------------------------   
  
The night was relatively cool for this time of year, without a cloud in the sky and a full moons illumination it was a perfect night to stargaze and wonder at what was happening. Cheetarah and Pumyra were talking about their new ally, each trying to stay away from the topic of his change, instead opting for what he had told them about his life when he had calmed down after awakening after his change.   
  
When he first woke up he seemed a bit disoriented but soon recovered enough to start answering some of the questions Tygra put to him, eventually they got onto the topic of his life and he'd started telling his life story at the very beginning and glossing over certain details he seemed uncomfortable with, after the first few hours Cheetarah felt the need to get some fresh air, do anything to calm herself instead what other terrors he experienced before the age of ten. She was known for the most part as a levelheaded Thundercat except in those extraordinary circumstances where is was impossible. That needed distraction had come in the form of Pumyra as the other female Thundercat sat down near to Cheetarah and started up a conversation. Though she wouldnt say it to her fellow Thundercats she was glad to have another woman around to talk with about matters that the others would find uncomfortable.   
  
For six hours strait he talked about his life and what he had done, within the first half hour all of the Thundercats were thinking of similiar gruesome thoughts concerning Genma. After the sixth hour Ranma tried to answer everyones questions as fast as they said them. During this time Cheetarah got out of the room, in need of some fresh air she came outside, shortly thereafter Pumyra came out.   
  
Finally Pumyra broached the subject. "He does look better with the changes, doesnt he?"   
  
Cheetarah blushed and smiled slyly. "Not that he didnt look good before with that physique of his......but he does look more hansome."   
  
"Uhh...hey."   
  
Both Thundercats jumped at the voice but calmed somewhat when they saw that it was Ranma who was nervously scratching the back of his head.   
  
"Sorry about that. I...just wanted to appologize about earlier today, it wasnt you....just the Neko-ken. I mean your both pretty...." He trailed off before bowing deeply and turning away with a blush on his face, he didnt notice that both Pumyra and Cheetarah were blushing as well. As he entered Cats Lair Cheetarah turned to Pumyra.   
  
---------------------------------   
  
Rem made a grand gesture of covering the Well with shadows extending from his arms. Dodging several thrown mugs and more heavier objects he smiled at his partner as he began the spiel. "Now folks, if my partner and I allowed you to see everything that happens then what reason would you have to vote for a entry like this when you would already know what is going to happen? I for one intend to make sure that doesnt happen at all, so if you want to see more then you'll have to vote for this like everyone else." Smile fading, he started to nervously sweat when he saw the various entities around him begin to advance in a too ordered fashion, raising his hands in a placating gesture he pointed back to the now uncovered Well, hoping to distract them, not that they would see anything of course with part of his Photino body covering the Well.   
  
Lone Wolf shook his head sadly as his partner was pulled away from the Well by the hastily formed lynch mob and hauled out of the bar. "So why didnt ya all just pull him away from the Well yourself Tolitair? I's reckon you could've done it fast enough so's none of them others could've found out."   
  
The humanoid cat turned away from its inspection of the lynch mobs attempt to burn Rem at the stake to regard the fellow. "It would be too easy, thats part of the reason. The other part is that even with voting those timelines that could have been taken up by anyone after the first bet are still lying around unused, despite my urging. No, this is fine as it stands. Though I think more then one of the Gods present were interested in seeing this entry continued so I dont think you'll have any problems finding enough power to make it real." With a flash from inside the bar the occupants turned back to the Well where the slightly charred though still living Rem dusted itself off while muttering curse words in several different languages at once under its breath.   
  
Just then the God of Order walked up to the Well and started to mess with it, looking at the changes Rem suddenly grabbed the god and kicking his ass. While several dieties attempted to pull the two brawlers appart Lone Wolf just chuckled and sat back to enjoy the show as Rem continued to try and remove the errent Gods spine with a pair of chopstix.   
  
Unnoticed by anyone Tolitir examined the Well to see what the God of order had been looking at when he caught an abbaration in the crossover timeline, where once there was just one Ranma there were now two but the second one for reasons he couldnt quite tell didnt show up too well in the Well's image, almost as if it couldnt see the second Ranma as he started to make fun of Mum-ra before kicking the old mummies posterior. With a guarded glance towards Lone Wolf, then Rem he cleared the Well after making anote of that entries location so that they could proceed with the next Bet entry.   
  
-------------------------   
  
Authors Notes: I cant believe I finally finished this, Im so happy I could cry...almost. I still cant believe it, amid the elctrocutions from my computer, getting hit on the head with blunt objects, being hit in sensitive places by young cousins who should know better by now, and the natural chaos of life...ITS FINISHED!   
  
And for those of you wondering this is going to be a h...a haaa....a...haa..ap.....a happy story, there, finally said it. There may be a match-up with either Cheetarah or Pumyra, but even if I did know who Ranma's going to be matched up with Id still want to hear all of your opinions.   
  
So C+C apreciated, nearly begged for, flames will be used to feed my perpetual motion machine (which oddly enough looks like a hamster in a hamster wheel), and any ideas suggested as to where the story can go may be used at any time without warning.   
  
Also though the Thundercats may be OOC its hard for me to tell as it has been several years since I last saw the cartoon.   
  
Comments can either be sent to me at: Mecvolve@onebox.com   
or to RIFT120 at:   
  
And now for the...*twitch*...omake.   
  
---Beginning of OMAKE----   
  
Fun omake time!!!   
Cheetarah "After all I have to find him and cover him in honey... and   
then strip him down ot lick it all off..." Cheetarah blinks as she notices the other Thundercats staring at her.   
  
Cheetarah bushes deep red. "Ooops.. did I say that out loud?"   
  
Pumyra muses to herself. "I would have used Chocolate myself." ^_^   
  
---End of OMAKE----   
  
End of this entry.   
  
For now:P 


	13. Teenage Mutant Martial Artists

[Ranma/TMNT] Second Bet: Teenage Mutant Martial Artists   
  
  
A large black raven swooped quietly into the  
room surrounding Mimir's well, flapping black furred  
wings as it started to settle into a landing. Before  
it touched the ground it began to grow. First into a  
wolf wearing a pelt of black feathers, and then into a  
man with a thick black cloak, like wings and feathers  
mixed in his thick black hair. The being's mouth  
curled into an amused smirk under wolf-yellow eyes.  
"Gabriel," one spirit muttered, resulting in a  
more pronounced smirk from the man.  
"That is one title," he admitted in a quiet  
voice that growled but was neither rough, nor hostile.  
"How long I remain in that office, however."  
Most shrugged that off. Lycanus's opinions  
concerning divine office were fairly well known, at  
least the ones he wanted people to know. The  
archangel smirked at the faces trying to determine  
what he was there for. What move in his cosmic chess  
game he was making now.  
He brushed lightly at the horn that was the  
mark of his office and strode to the well. He reached  
down and scooped up a handful of water, carried over a  
few feet to another part of the well, and dropped it  
back in. The water was turbulent and rough for a few  
moments and then it accepted the mix and settled  
calmly into a smooth surface again. Sometimes all it  
took was a small, meaningless appearance, and people,  
even great and powerful demons and "gods" started  
leaping to conclusions.  
Besides, now that the matter with the Lord of  
Nightmares was cleared up, he had some freetime before  
the next of his plots started developing.  
  
******  
  
"Much more than just a series of small,  
isolated incidents," the newswoman announced to the  
city streets. She was a woman of Japanese descent,  
somewhere between twenty five and thirty five. Her  
brown hair pulled back in a thin ponytail, that could  
only occasionally be seen from behind her back. Her  
bangs curled into a helmet like frame around her face.  
Few people were paying attention to the street  
TV as they walked along on their business. "It is now  
apparent that there is an organized criminal element  
in the streets, and for the moment, business is good.   
So good in fact that   
there are no eyewitnesses to any  
of these crimes."  
As the television continued a man stood reading  
a paper emblazoned with the headline "City Crime  
Escalates." As he read he unknowingly had his pocket  
picked. It was immediately passed off to another  
teenager, and then another. Until it reached a girl  
with short auburn hair who leaned against a wall  
holding the wallet. A gauntleted hand reached out and  
took the stolen item.  
"With complaints ranging from purse snatching  
to breaking and entering, the police switchboards have  
been swamped with the angry voices of more and more  
citizens that have fallen prey to the surge of crimes  
that continues to plague this city. Instead of  
getting better, things have actually gotten worse."  
Elsewhere a delivery man took a box off of his  
truck and walked the twenty feet to the door to hand  
it off to the recipient.  
"Even more alarming, is baffling and often  
bizarre nature of these crimes," the reporter  
continued. "Merchandise ranging from skateboards to  
stereo systems have been disappearing from store  
shelves and storage areas at an alarming rate."  
When the delivery man returned to the truck a  
few moments later, it had been completely emptied.  
"Even the victims themselves," an old woman  
waved dismissively at her television and reached to  
grab some more yarn. While she was bent over the TV  
was grabbed. "Rarely catch a glimpse of the thieves,  
in fact the police have been unable to come up with a  
single eyewitness. Only a few vague reports of young  
boys or teenagers at the scenes have been filed."  
"But whoever is behind these crimes," the  
reporter continued. Meanwhile a van occupied by men  
in black jumpsuits with bug-eyed goggles was filled  
with various boxes by a virtual stream of teenagers.   
"One thing is certain,   
these are much more than just a  
series of random isolated incidents."  
"Crimes without criminals?" the reporter  
continued. At a warehouse on the edge of the city a  
man in an ornate karate style gi watched over a horde  
of teenagers sorting through a collection of boxes.   
"An invisible gang   
at work? Who we gonna call?"  
The short-haired girl that had finally ended up  
with the wallet tore open a box and pulled out a set  
of head phones.  
"Unfortunately the police are the only ones  
available to combat what some are already calling the  
silent crime wave. But perhaps the most disturbing  
silence is the one coming from city hall. Nabiki  
Tendo, signing off."  
  
******  
  
"Don't you think you're pushing a little hard,  
Nabs?" a tech asked as Nabiki packed up her things.  
"You're kidding right?" Nabiki asked. "This is  
the story of the decade."  
"You bought stock in some security firms,  
didn't you," the other asked.  
"Of course," Nabiki said. "But I can always  
get money, now recognition, that's another matter."   
She glanced around   
and frowned.  
"Oh, your neice said she'd meet you at your  
apartment," the tech said.  
"She's twelve years old," Nabiki said  
irritably. "When this cultural education thing ends  
I'd like to return her to her parents in one piece."  
"Come on," the tech said. "She's been a city  
rat since she first got off the plane a year ago,  
she'll be fine."  
"She better be," Nabiki said seriously pointing  
at him. She hmphed and started walking out of the  
building. The parking lot was darkened as she headed  
for her BMW, and took out her keys. Suddenly New York  
was seeming a lot like her home town. That put her in  
famliar territory, with the exception that she didn't  
know the players.   
She was considering this as she turned the  
corner toward the driver side door. The sound of  
someone dropping a tire iron alerted her to the fact  
that she wasn't alone. She frowned and turned around  
her car with a straight kick sending the would be  
thief sprawling back to the blacktop of the parking  
lot.  
"Find somebody else's..." Nabiki stopped  
berating the thief and noticed the small crowd of  
thugs that was waiting in the darkness.  
"Nice legs, lady," one of the young toughs  
said, flicking out a switchblade. Nabiki didn't waste  
time talking or trying to convince herself that she  
could take them with some barely remembered childhood  
training. She turned and ran down the streets.  
"Get her!"  
"Great," Nabiki muttered as she found herself  
cut off from the news building. "I'm going to get  
killed by gang of punk kids."   
She caught sight of a possible escape   
in the  
form of a pile of junk next to a fence in an alley.   
If it held she could   
knock it down on her way up and  
block the path off to her. As Nabiki made her attempt  
she began to seriously regret her decision to stop  
studying the family art. Especially when the junk  
caved in under her weight and sent her tumbling hard  
to the ground amidst a lot of trash.  
"Now we got you," one of thugs said, smiling  
and playing with a rod he had picked up from  
somewhere.  
Nabiki stumbled painfully to her feet and  
struggled to remember a stance, kata or anything that  
might get her out of this. A flash of metal caught  
her eye and she smirked as something struck the light  
illuminating the alley. As darkness covered  
everything Nabiki heard the familiar sound of flesh  
and wood striking flesh and stayed very still. She  
was crossing her arms and smiling superiorly at the  
thugs sitting there tied up when the cops approached  
and headlights replaced the broken street lamp.  
While the cops were collecting the thugs she  
quietly slipped what appeared to be a handmade dagger  
into her bag. She tapped her fingers against her  
elbow and took in her surroundings, noting a slightly  
raised man-hole cover lowering shut. Yes, things were  
beginning to get more and more like old times.  
  
******  
  
"That was great," a feminine voice declared  
happily.  
"Null sweat," a guy answered. The two speakers  
were rather unusual, very unusual in fact. Not  
because they dressed in matching dark red outfits.   
Nor because they were   
blond with the occasional black  
or white stripe or spot. Nope, they were unusual in  
that they had fur rather than hair, and that it pretty  
much covered their body. Then there were those  
pointed ears, and the long tails swishing excitedly  
behind them.  
"They didn't stand a chance," another girl  
added coming up behind the two cat people. She had a  
very bright red color to her fur with white  
highlights, and was showing off a very foxy smile.   
Her long bushy tail   
was revealing just as much  
excitement as the cats' were.  
"I could have finished it quicker," another guy  
said coming up behind them. He stood taller than the  
others, with thick grey fur. His arms were crossed  
and he was frowning. A long tail swished behind him.  
"Yeah, and caved..." the cat guy started. The  
cats both started circling the very wolfish fellow,  
moving quickly.  
"...the alley in..." the girl continued.  
"...on us! Come on..."  
"...you just don't want..."  
"... to admit you..."  
"...actually had fun."  
"Could you quit that!" an irritated voice  
demanded behind them. The second wolf had her arms  
crossed and her tail flicked angrily as she stalked  
past everybrody growling.  
"We followed her plan right?" the fox asked.  
"All she said was what we were going to do  
anyway," the bear said.  
"So there's no reason..."  
"...for her to be mad right?" Everybody  
shrugged and followed after the wolf.  
"She left her dagger behind," somebody said  
coming up behind them.  
This speaker was another fox, wearing a pair of  
glasses that had probably been scavanged and didn't  
much help his eyesight. He was folding a bit of robe  
into his clothes, and watching the she-wolf worriedly.  
  
******  
  
Nabiki walked into her apartment and stretched  
out. She checked the time and frowned. Just what she  
needed, to get bogged down with the police for the  
night. She walked into her kitchen and set her bag  
down on the counter and opened the fridge.  
"Freeze, kiddo," she said, frostily. She  
turned around and looked at her niece's hands in her  
bag. She arched an eyebrow and crossed her arms.   
"Have you been taking   
lessons from your grandfather,  
Midori?"  
"Ah come on, Auntie Biki," the girl whined. A  
girl with short auburn hair. "You have lots of  
mon...what's this?"  
"I figured the daughter of two great martial  
artists would recognize a dagger when she saw one,"  
Nabiki said, grabbing the weapon out of her hand.   
"Now where did you go   
today?"  
"Where were you for the last few hours?" Midori  
snapped.  
"I was at the police department," Nabiki said  
distastefully. "You weren't here or else you would  
have known that from the answering machine."  
"Like you care," the girl hmphed, crossing her  
arms. "You just dump me off like Mom and Dad did."  
"I work," Nabiki said. "I can't watch you ever  
moment of every day. And your parents didn't dump  
you. The version I got was that you virtually pleaded  
to come live over here for a couple of years."  
"They didn't tell me that you were a  
manipulative, tight wad, old maid," Midori complained.  
"Why were you at the cops? Chasing your story?"  
"Some people tried to mug me," Nabiki said. "I  
was giving a report. And some of the cops aren't  
exactly friendly with me right now." Midori stared at  
her in surprise.  
"Are you all right?" her niece asked.  
"What do you think?" Nabiki asked. "Do I look  
hurt?"  
"Umm," Midori looked suddenly nervous.  
"And then I come home to find my niece lying in  
wait to pick my pocket," Nabiki said. "Its been a  
lovely day, Midori, please let me relax before I  
decide whether or not to call your parents."   
"Sorry, Auntie Biki,"   
Midori said, wincing.   
She drifted off to Nabiki's guest room. Nabiki looked  
at the dagger in her hand and thought over her  
encounter in the alley.  
"What do we have here?" she whispered, smiling.  
She traced the kanji on the blade and chuckled.   
"Yamasen, Umisen." A   
dagger marked with the symbols  
of a thieving martial art in the midst of a city-wide  
crime spree. She frowned at the next few Kanji.   
"Tendo Anything Goes."  
The frown vanished in the face of an amused  
laugh.  
"It's good to be back in the game."  
In the guest room, Midori's eyes were wide as  
her aunt listed off the Yamasen and Umisen.  
  
******  
  
"The police collected them," the speaker was a  
dark skinned girl, with a prematurly gray hair.   
"There was something familiar   
about that woman,  
Mistress Kurumi."  
"Is that so?" the speaker was a red-haired  
woman leaning on a cane. Her eyes glowed bright red,  
bright enough that she wouldn't even be able to hide  
it behind shades.   
A loud clattering sound announced the opening  
of the trap door to the rest of the sewers, and soon  
two blonde blurs were circling the woman, who laughed  
and sat down in her chair.  
"Kurumi!" they shouted in one voice. "We had  
a battle, a real battle! It was cool!"  
"Calm down!" the wolf shouted coming up from  
the sewers. "Show the Mistress some respect." The  
wolf travelled irritably to a corner of the basement  
and picked up a sword and a sharpening stone.  
"Is something wrong, Shampoo?" Kurumi asked.  
"She lost her dagger in the fight," the fox  
explained, joining them. "That reporter lady picked  
it up."  
"Reporter lady?" Kurumi repeated, curious.  
"She's been making a lot of reports about all  
the thieves recently," the fox-boy said as he entered  
the room ahead of the wolf-boy. "But you don't watch  
TV much so."  
"Yeah, she has the same family name as you,"  
the cat-guy said.  
"Weird, huh?" the cat-girl added.  
"Do any of you know this reporter's given  
name?" Kurumi asked. "Ukyou? Ryouga?"  
"Becky?" the cat girl suggested.  
"Beaky?" the male cheetah added.  
"Ranma, Ranko. You never listen," the male  
wolf grumbled sitting down. "It was Nabiki."   
Kurumi's eyes widened.  
"Something wrong, Mistress?" the gray-haired  
girl asked.  
"Nabiki Tendo is my sister," the woman said.  
  
******  
  
"Moshi moshi," Akane answered the phone. "Oh,  
hello Nabiki. Is there something wrong with Midori?"   
She said the last   
worriedly. Nabiki's rather dry  
answer did not reassure her.  
"She's healthy," Nabiki assured her. "She  
thinks I have enough money that she can borrow from  
me, without saying anything."  
"What?" Akane snapped. "Let me talk to her."  
"Yeah, and then I need to talk to Ranma,"  
Nabiki said. Akane waited irritably for Nabiki to put  
on her daughter and then proceeded to lecture. Ranma  
picked up another line to add his own say so for a few  
minutes.   
Nabiki watched satisfactorily as the girl  
winced and cringed at her parents lecturing, and  
waited patiently to be given the phone again. Midori  
wandered off to bed feeling like she had just done ten  
rounds with one of the Hibiki's. She kept her ear  
open to listen to her aunt's conversation with her  
father though.  
"Sorry 'bout that, Nabs," Ranma said as Nabiki  
came back to the phone. "Sometimes she can drive you  
crazy. You wanted to talk to me."  
"Yeah, that letter Kurumi sent us," she  
started. "About sixteen years ago?"  
"The one about Ryuu and Natsume getting killed  
by a renegade student?" Ranma asked cautiously.  
"It was posted marked New York, right?" Nabiki  
said.  
"There was no return address," Ranma said.   
"But that's what the   
stamp said. You think you found  
out more about that?"  
"I got rescued from a mugging today," Nabiki  
said. "Didn't see by who, but one of them was  
carrying a handmade dagger, nice one too, and its  
marked with the kanji for Tendo Anything Goes,  
Yamasen, and Umisen." There was silence for a moment.  
"Those arts are sealed," he said angrily. "No  
one besides me and my Pop should know them now that  
Ryuu's dead."  
"There's also a crime wave in the city, Ranma,"  
Nabiki said. "Pickpockets, break ins, lots of  
thievery."  
"You're saying somebody's using the Yamasen and  
Umisen," Ranma said. "The way it was supposed to be  
used?"  
"That's what it looks like," Nabiki said. "Of  
course, I could be wrong. I got this dagger from  
people that may have saved my life."  
"Do you want us to come help?" Ranma asked.  
"No, no," Nabiki said. "I think I can handle  
this. Who knows what craziness will happen if you  
come over."  
"Thanks for the confidence," Ranma muttered.   
"Don't do anything   
stupid, Nabiki."  
"I don't plan to," Nabiki promised, smirking.   
She turned toward   
the guest room and saw the door  
close shut. Nabiki shook her head amused. "Don't  
worry, kiddo. We weren't talking about you." Nabiki  
sighed and shook her head, chuckling. "I'm never  
having kids."  
"You don't have to worry about it old maid!"  
Midori's voice called out.  
  
=====  
  
"Your sister, Kurumi?" the fox girl asked,BR  
pausing in the trip to the "kitchen."BR  
"Not by blood," she said. "Someone pretendingBR  
to be her father claimed to be mine."BR  
"We saved the Mistress's sister," the cheetahBR  
girl said.BR  
"Cool," was her partner's add on.BR  
"She's got my dagger!" the wolf-girl shouted.BR  
"It's too late to do anything about it," KurumiBR  
said.BR  
"But I bet I can get it back!" she insisted.BR  
"Leave it," Kurumi instructed.BR  
"I made that dagger," she insisted. "It's..."BR  
"Shampoo!" Kurumi interrupted. 'It's an item,BR  
it's not important."BR  
"She'll never know I was there," ShampooBR  
insisted.BR  
"Most likely not," Kurumi agreed. Trying toBR  
ignore it as the cheetahs quietly started a tickleBR  
duel. "But it isn't worth the risk for just aBR  
replaceable tool. I can understand how you feel aboutBR  
being stuck down here. I spent most of my childhoodBR  
wandering Japan with just my sister. But we need toBR  
be cautious when..." She picked up a glass of waterBR  
and tossed it at the increasingly louder cheetahs. BR  
"Ranko, Ranma. There is a time and place for games,BR  
but its not while I'm lecturing."BR  
"Sorry, Mistress," they said in one embarrassedBR  
voice.BR  
"Cats," the wolves muttered. Kurumi justBR  
rolled her eyes and turned to the fox-girl.BR  
"Ukyou, what's for dinner?" Kurumi asked. BR  
"Yuck!" the fox-girl closed the fridge door,BR  
gagging. "Food's all spoiled."BR  
"I think I may have spoiled you all," KurumiBR  
said. "There's no such thing as food that can't beBR  
eaten."BR  
"The milk is purple," Ukyou said. The otherBR  
fox walked over to look over the fridge.BR  
"On second thought," Kurumi said.BR  
"No milk?" Ranko whined. Ukyou glanced up fromBR  
the fridge and traded a look with the other fox.BR  
"What do you think, Mousse?" she asked. HeBR  
stood up and shook his head.BR  
"Busted," he said. "Freon's all leaked out. BR  
And it short circuited to set the thaw function onBR  
overdrive. That's why it all spoiled so fast." AllBR  
eyes turned to the dark skinned, human-looking girl. BR  
She sighed resignedly.BR  
"I'll order the pizzas," she said.BR  
"Good, now that that's settled," Kurumi said,BR  
the thought of coming food easing her mind somewhat. BR  
"While we wait for the food, I think that we shouldBR  
meditate on the events of the..." Kurumi wasBR  
interrupted by the sound of music, and leaned her headBR  
on her hand and arched an eyebrow at her students.BR  
"It's sorta the same," Ukyou said.BR  
"Uh huh," Kurumi said, doubtfully tapping herBR  
fingers against her temple. Not that there was muchBR  
she could say about it, remember Natsume's own effortsBR  
to get her to sit still long enough to meditate.BR  
"I'm going for a walk," Shampoo declared,BR  
snatching a heavy, hooded coat and walking out of theBR  
sewer-apartment. Kurumi shook her head as she watchedBR  
the girl leave. The wolf-boy glanced at Kurumi for aBR  
moment and then after Shampoo. BR  
"Don't worry about her, Ryouga. She needs someBR  
time alone," she told him. BR  
"I think I'll just follow her to be sure," heBR  
said anyway, and got up to follow Shampoo.BR  
Kurumi shrugged and said, under her breath,BR  
"Kids."BR  
BR  
*******BR  
BR  
"What are you doing out here, Mousse?" the darkBR  
skinned girl asked. "If someone sees you there'll beBR  
trouble."BR  
"What's it like, Kodachi?" he asked quietly. BR  
"You know, walking around with the humans? EvenBR  
Mistress Kurumi can't do that and she is human."BR  
"What do you think it's like?" Kodachi asked. BR  
"I'm always afraid I'll be caught in a lie and someoneBR  
will want to do a blood test or something."BR  
"You don't feel like you fit in?" Mousse asked.BR  
"Of coure not," Kodachi huffed. "They'reBR  
human, I only appear to be."BR  
"One other question," Mousse said.BR  
"What is it?" Kodachi asked, tapping herBR  
fingers irritably.BR  
"Why do you always have the pizza delivered toBR  
this place?" Mousse asked, gesturing around at theBR  
abandoned storefront. "Its not like you can't go downBR  
to that convenience store and wait there."BR  
"Because there has yet to be a pizza deliveryBR  
person who can find it in less than thirty minutes,"BR  
Kodachi answered honestly.BR  
"Oh," Mousse said.BR  
BR  
*******BR  
BR  
"Mommy! Look at the werewolves!" a boy said,BR  
shouting excitedly. After hours of actors speaking inBR  
Shakespearian dialect he had finally found somethingBR  
that interested him.BR  
"Those are just some statues, Eric," his motherBR  
said. "You'd think they'd put them somewhere easierBR  
to see, you could walk into them before you saw them."BR  
In fact she would have walked about three feet toBR  
left of them if her son hadn't pointed them out.BR  
"They look so real!" he said.BR  
"Don't be silly," the mother said. "There's noBR  
such thing as werewolves." She looked over the twoBR  
"statues" that were placed just out of the lightBR  
beyond the park theater. "Besides, real werewolvesBR  
would be bigger, and wouldn't be dressed in those cuteBR  
matching outfits." She looked over Shampoo'sBR  
cheongsam, noting the definite humanoid figure fromBR  
the neck down. "Must have been a post-adolescentBR  
sculptor." She muttered before herding her son awayBR  
from the suggestive "sculpture."BR  
"Why do the kids always find us?" ShampooBR  
asked.BR  
"I don't know whether to feel insulted orBR  
what," Ryouga said as the two humans moved off.BR  
"Is there a reason that Kurumi gave us matchingBR  
outfits?" Shampoo asked.BR  
"Well you know how she gets," Ryouga muttered. BR  
"At least the cheetahs enjoy them."BR  
"Somebody might think we're a couple," ShampooBR  
agreed. They looked at each other.BR  
"Ewwww," they said unison.BR  
"I just had a disturbing thought," Ryouga said.BR  
"Do I want to know?" Shampoo asked.BR  
"What if Ranko and Ranma DID get together?"BR  
Ryouga asked.BR  
"Lots of cats," Shampoo said.BR  
"All saying parts of one sentence," RyougaBR  
added.BR  
"Bouncing all over the place," Shampoo saidBR  
"Cats," they said in unison with a touch ofBR  
frustration.BR  
BR  
*******BR  
BR  
Ranko and Ranma sneezed.BR  
"Some one..."BR  
"...must be..."BR  
"...talking..."BR  
"...about us."BR  
"Just for one moment," Ukyou said irritably. BR  
"Can you two talk as if you're two different people."BR  
"Of course we can," Ranko said.BR  
"It's just that that's more fun!" Ranma added. BR  
Both smiled.BR  
BR  
*******BR  
BR  
"So that would be twenty-five pizzas," theBR  
delivery man said to a surprised Kodachi. He was aBR  
college-aged boy with dark brown hair, and nearlyBR  
black eyes that glittered in the dark.BR  
"Just how did you find me so quickly?" KodachiBR  
asked.BR  
"I almost didn't," the man said. "And that'sBR  
impressive. So anyway, you owe me about two hundredBR  
sixty dollars." Kodachi looked mournfully at herBR  
wallet, she was expected free pizza. "But, I'll payBR  
for it if you promise to tell me how you learned toBR  
hide your mind like that."BR  
"I do not know what you're talking about," sheBR  
said, eyes narrowed.BR  
"Fine," he said, smiling. "I'll do it anyway,BR  
don't worry, I can afford it. I just do this job forBR  
the chance to meet interesting people."BR  
"I see. Thank you," Kodachi said. "Mister..."BR  
"Lamont Cranston," he said. "I was named afterBR  
my grandfather."BR  
"Fine," she said. "I'll see about repayingBR  
you."BR  
"I'm in the phone book," he said. "I'll lookBR  
forward to hearing from you, Foxy." He walked off.BR  
"Good guess," Kodachi muttered as soon as heBR  
was gone. "Mousse are you still out there?"BR  
"He was coming on to you," Mousse said.BR  
"Really?" Kodachi asked dryly. "Can weBR  
concentrate on getting the pizzas home?"BR  
BR  
*******BR  
BR  
"Ready?" Ukyou whispered to Mousse and Kodachi.BR  
Both nodded and tensed, staring ahead. She glancedBR  
at Ranko and Ranma, who also nodded and indicatedBR  
their readiness. All eyes turned to Kurumi and waitedBR  
for the signal to do battle.BR  
"Itekadimas," Kurumi said cheerfully. And theBR  
battle over the food began. BR  
All of them blurred into motion. When it wasBR  
over a happily sated Kurumi sighed pleasantly andBR  
looked to her suddenly haggard looking students. BR  
"You know, one of these days, you'll be able toBR  
keep up with me one on one." She stood up stiffly andBR  
stretched out as much as she could, leaning heavily onBR  
her cane. She then walked to the big recliner theyBR  
had recovered for her and sat down with a sigh ofBR  
relief.BR  
"Just how fast is she?" Ukyou asked, catchingBR  
her breath.BR  
"Too..." Ranma started.BR  
"...fast." Ranko finished.BR  
BR  
*******BR  
BR  
A woman screamed as the man stepped out of theBR  
shadows and produced a switchblade. He waved at herBR  
with his other hand, gesturing for the purse andBR  
glancing around. He was moving to open his mouth andBR  
say something when something moved out of the cornerBR  
of his eye.BR  
"What the-?" he asked. His prey took theBR  
opportunity to run headlong away from him. screaming. BR  
"Hey, you come ba-!" Something brushed past behindBR  
him in the darkness. He turned around to see what itBR  
was, and as soon as he turned around, somethingBR  
grabbed the back of his shirt and tossed him away.BR  
The thug hit the ground and groaned as he stoodBR  
stiffly back up, noticing that, somehow, he had beenBR  
stripped to his boxersBR  
"What the hell was that!" he asked.BR  
"It appeared to me that you were in the processBR  
of assaulting that woman," a voice said.coolly. A manBR  
stepped into the shadows tapping a cane against hisBR  
shoulder. "It seems that I cannot even attend aBR  
viewing of one of The Bard's more triumphantBR  
productions without encountering some form of humanBR  
filth such as yourself."BR  
"Are you the asshole that did this?" the thugBR  
demanded. "Because if you are..."BR  
"Do not be foolish," the man said. "I have aBR  
much more painful lesson to teach you."BR  
"Just try it pops..." The man rushed forward inBR  
a blink and slammed his cane into the thugs get. HeBR  
then reversed the grip and used the hook to toss theBR  
thug across the clearing.BR  
"Stop that!" a girl's voice demanded from theBR  
shadows.BR  
"Yeah, it ain't like a he's out to killBR  
people," a boy's voice added.BR  
"Perhaps you would like to voice your concernsBR  
in the open," the man asked. "Or do you wish toBR  
continue skulking in the shadows."BR  
"You don't give us commands," the girl's voiceBR  
shouted, from a different space. The thug was lookingBR  
around, every motion of the leaves seeming to beBR  
someone just barely held back in the shadows. "WeBR  
punished him enough as it is. There is absolutely noBR  
reason to beat him to within an inch of his life."BR  
"Such embarrassments are for children," was theBR  
answer. "They are not effective for such as him." BR  
The criminal took the example of the woman he hadBR  
tried to mug earlier and turned to run. The man withBR  
the cane turned to follow, leading with his cane andBR  
found his strike blocked by a thick staff weilded byBR  
someone in a heavy coat and a deep hood.BR  
"Enough already," the boy said.BR  
"Good work, Ryouga," another figure said,BR  
dropping down out of the trees and weilding a bokken. BR  
The man with the cane arched an eyebrow, both at theBR  
weapon and the name. A gloved hand extended outwardBR  
to point at the man. "Now you get out of here, weBR  
don't want to hurt you."BR  
"Shampoo," Ryouga said, frustrated. The otherBR  
wolf had a tendency to give commands to her fellowsBR  
rather than requesting anything. BR  
"Perhaps something else is in order then," theBR  
man said, pulling back and tapping his shoulder withBR  
the cane again. "It has been far too long since theBR  
Blue Thunder has been tested against a worthy foe."BR  
"The Blue Thunder?" Shampoo repeated.BR  
"Is that like a sad fart?" Ryouga asked.BR  
"Well, this is not a bokken," the Blue ThunderBR  
said, glancing at his cane. "But it has someBR  
advantages. It'll do to punish your impertinence toBR  
Kuno Tatewaki." BR  
He slashed out at the figure with the maleBR  
voice and the boy predictably blocked him. KunoBR  
reversed his grip and grabbed the boys staff pullingBR  
back. He was surprised when the smaller figure didn'tBR  
even budge. The staff swung down and narrowly missedBR  
a side-stepping Kuno. The hook of the cane came freeBR  
of the staff and Kuno was about to strike again whenBR  
the legs were swept out from under his feet.BR  
"You shouldn't ignore me," Shampoo said. "I amBR  
the chief student of the Shinkiro Style, not someBR  
useless female." BR  
Ryouga fought the urge to ask the usualBR  
question one of them would ask in response to that:BR  
"When did Kurumi name a 'chief student'?" It was wellBR  
known that Shampoo's bossiness had earned her herBR  
name. A fact which made some of them wonder what theBR  
original Shampoo was like.BR  
Kuno kippuped to his feet and smiled, dustingBR  
himself off.BR  
"Perhaps I should cease playing," he said,BR  
stepping back into stance. "Care to test your skill,BR  
Miss...?"BR  
"Shampoo," Shampoo said readying her bokken. BR  
Kuno laughed and tapped his shoulders.BR  
"Of course," he said. "But are you certain youBR  
can take me without help?"BR  
"Easily," Shampoo said. Then the wolf wasBR  
launching forward in a strike. Kuno's cane flashedBR  
out and hooked the bokken out of her hand. And intoBR  
Kuno's.BR  
"You show promise," Kuno admitted, quirking anBR  
eye as the girl produced a Manriki-Gusari she hadBR  
apparently been wearing as a necklace. That wasn'tBR  
what surprised him though. Her hood had fallen back,BR  
revealing the very canine head. "What manner of demonBR  
are you?"BR  
"You don't need to know!" Shampoo shouted. BR  
"Do you need help, Shampoo?" Ryouga asked,BR  
hefting his staff.BR  
"Ryouga, stay out of this!" Shampoo ordered. BR  
She moved forward swiftly, and kicked out. The cane,BR  
now in Kuno's left hand, came down, and Shampoo caughtBR  
it with the chain. Her kick, unfortunately, movedBR  
smoothly past the other fighter though, and the bokkenBR  
slammed squarely into her back sending her into aBR  
tree.BR  
"Shampoo!" Ryouga shouted, moving in andBR  
starting a series of attacks with the staff, assistedBR  
by occasional unarmed strikes. Kuno's cane and bokkenBR  
combination seemed to present a formidable defense,BR  
however.BR  
"Impressive," Kuno said. He hooked the staffBR  
again and saw the wolfish grin under the head.BR  
"That doesn't work, remember?!" Ryouga shouted,BR  
ripping back on the cane. And rolling completely outBR  
of balance when Kuno merely released the cane. FromBR  
there it was an easy two-handed strike for Kuno toBR  
slam him into another tree.BR  
"Whatever sort of demon or spirit you may be,"BR  
Kuno said to the dazed wolves. "You are obviouslyBR  
children, and I have no time to waste with such cubs."BR  
Saying that he impaled the bokken into the ground andBR  
snatched up his cane on his way away from the scene.BR  
"Cubs!?" Shampoo shouted angrily, gettingBR  
dazedly to her feet. And starting to chase after theBR  
man. "Cubs!?BR  
"Shampoo! Stop!" Ryouga shouted, grabbing her. BR  
"He's on the street! We can't go out there!"BR  
"Great! Great!" Shampoo snapped angrily,BR  
grabbing her bokken. "First I lose the dagger andBR  
then we get humiliated by an old man with a cane."BR  
"What is it with the dagger?" Ryouga asked. BR  
"You have tons of throwing daggers."BR  
"Well, I made THAT one," Shampoo said.BR  
"So, make another one," Ryouga said. "You actBR  
like you marked that thing with the symbols of theBR  
foundation schools."BR  
"Uh, heh," Shampoo said, scratching the back ofBR  
her head. "Well, this was relaxing, better go homeBR  
before they start getting worried." Ryouga stared atBR  
her.BR  
"You didn't," he said.BR  
"There should be a record of the style'sBR  
history," Shampoo said, embarrassed.BR  
"Yeah, right," Ryouga said. "Except thatBR  
Kurumi said NEVER mark ANYTHING with those symbols!"BR  
"Don't you shout at me!" Shampoo protested. BR  
"I'll get it back!"BR  
"How!?" he asked.BR  
"She's not a martial artist," Shampoo said. BR  
"You just can't stand to be optimistic about anything,BR  
can you?" Ryouga covered his eyes with his hand andBR  
shook his head.BR  
"Don't worry, it'll be easy," Shampoo ended.BR 


	14. TransRanma

"Speech"  
Thoughts  
{Foreign language}  
  
At Mimir's well, the recently dubbed 'Foxie' was awaiting the next entrant. There was a flash of light followed by a burst of darkness. The Great Fox turned to see what could be dubbed unique. Primus the transformer god and his counter-part, Unicron, were standing next to each other looking at him, and they weren't fighting. "Are you here to make an entry?"  
  
"Yes we are.", Primus responded. "We decide to try our hand at this while aiming for a specific goal."  
  
"You do know that Ranma Saotome must be a part of the universe?", asked Foxie.  
  
"Yes, we are quite aware of that.", replied Unicron   
  
"Ok then, choose a time and place to make a change."  
  
"Hmmm, let's see.", Primus was currently watching the Nemesis catch up with the Arc. This should do nicely. He then held up a stone and concentrated. The stone glowed brightly, transformed into a small golden robot and jumped into the pool. A small piece of space debris hit another causing a chain reaction in space, ultimately changing one of the larger asteroid's course.  
  
"Interesting choice," the Great Fox remarked. "Though why would you want the asteroid to hit the Nemesis?"  
  
"Trust me, this is going to be very interesting."  
  
"I guess I'll wait and see your results before trying my hand at this."  
  
"You do that Unicron, but one question, why aren't the two of you arguing?"  
  
"We found it to be rather boring after all these millennia, so we decide to settle our fights by giving fanfic authors 'inspiration' and seeing where it goes from there."  
  
"It helps to lower the strain when you travel in your astral form as much as we do."  
  
"Would one of you like a lube job or something?", asked the Great Fox while trying to hold back his mirth and not truly succeeding.  
  
"Well, Cybertron has passed its 300 000th Gigacycle…", Primus looked at Foxie seriously for a moment before smirking. Sometimes I wish I didn't have to travel around in an astral form, but they do need a home planet.  
  
"Shall we watch what happens?", with that the three immortals turned to watch the story unfold…  
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Disclaimer: I don't own them and I don't make money off of them. I'm just a poor college student, suing me would be pointless and would bring the wrath of Primus on you (of course, Hasbro is already suffering his wrath, so they don't count). I only do this for my own enjoyment.  
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"Megatron, we are gaining on the autobots."  
  
"Soundwave prepare the tractor beam, Starscream take Thundercracker and Skywarp down to the docking bay and prepare to board the Arc."  
  
"At once, oh mighty Megatron."  
  
"Warning Megatron, incoming asteroid. Collision is imminent."  
  
"Reflector sound the alarm, Soundwave try and steer us out of the way." Megatron couldn't believe it, the perfect opportunity to eliminate Optimus Prime and it was slipping through his fingers. He got out of his chair and started to head down to the docking bay. "If we cannot escape the asteroid's path, abandon ship."  
  
"Acknowledged Megatron."  
  
Meanwhile at the docking bay…  
  
"Starscream, what do we do now. The ship is in danger!"  
  
"Then it is time for us to leave."  
  
"What about the others? Shouldn't we wait for Megatron's orders?"  
  
"I am your commander, you will listen to my orders Thundercracker! Now you and I shall exit through the bay door, Skywarp, you shall close the doors and then blast the control panel. Once that is done, you will warp out of the bay and we will return to Cybertron as the new leaders of the decepticons."  
  
"Come on TC, it'll be great. We'll finally get the respect we deserve."  
  
"I don't know guys…"  
  
"Would you rather take your chances and stay here and hope to hear instructions from our great leader? He would probably save himself before thinking of warning the rest of us. Trust me Thundercracker, it is best if we leave Megatron to this fate and lead the decepticons into a new era under our leadership."  
  
"OK Strascream, let's get out of here." With that said, Tundercracker leaped out the bay doors and transformed into his triangular plane.  
  
Giving Skywarp a grin, Starscream jumped out and followed him while Skywarp finished his part of the plan, leaving the controls destroyed beyond repair. 5 minutes later, Megatron made it down and saw the damage that was caused to the controls. He spent the next 3 minutes cursing Starscream and his origin before he remembered the situation. He quickly charged up his fusion canon and prepared to fire when his world went to flames then nothingness…  
  
…10 minutes earlier  
  
"Soundwave, we cannot avoid the asteroid. It's going to crash into us."  
  
"Then we are to abandon the Nemesis."  
  
"Well then Soundwave, we hope to see you later."  
  
"Goodbye Reflector."  
  
Both decepticons jumped ship and started to make their slow way back to Cybertron, unfortunately for Soundwave, he was hit by some of the floating space debris. Reflector on the other hand, was picked up by Thundercracker. Soon after that, there was an explosion.  
  
Meanwhile, aboard the Ark…  
  
"Optimus, you should see this."  
  
"What is it Prowl, are the decepticons catching up?"  
  
"No Optimus, the Nemesis has just been hit by an asteroid, it's dead in space."  
  
"Are there any survivors?"  
  
"Prime, are you crazy, these are decepticons were talking about. Who gives a slag if there are any survivors!"  
  
"Ironhide, we're autobots. Do you want to sink down to their level? Besides there's someone I need to search for."  
  
"Alright Prime, I don't like it but alright."  
  
"Good. Sideswipe, Bluestreak, Jazz, Hound, I want you three to go out and check for survivors. Ratchet, Wheeljack, I want the two of you to prepare the medbay. Prowl, keep an optic out for any activity. Brawn, Ironhide, Cliffjumper, Huffer and Sunstreaker, I want you ready to back up the search party if they encounter any trouble. The rest of you, check all systems for damage. Ok autobots, move out!"  
  
"Sideswipe, can you believe the mess out here. There's chunks of the Nemesis all over the place."  
  
"Jazz, pay attention. We're not out here for the scenery, we're looking for survivors."  
  
"Come on Hound, I'm just trying to ease the tension. You should loosen up a little, you might blow a gasket or something."  
  
"Jazz is right Hound. For all we know, the decepticons were all destroyed along with "  
  
"Bluestreak, Jazz, Hound, over here! I found Soundwave!"  
  
"We're coming Sideswipe." Once they reached Sideswipe, they noticed Soundwave was banged up. Quickly coming to a decision, Jazz gave out orders. "Hound, radio Optimus and let him know who we found. Bluestreak, you help Sideswipe bring him back to the Ark. Knowing Optimus, he'll send some of the others and have us continue the search."  
Getting affirmatives from his fellow autobots, Jazz had to wonder just why Optimus would be going to all this trouble. Sure he could understand looking around to make sure the decepticons were slagged, but why look for survivors. I hope Prowl understands what's going down, 'cause I'm in the dark. If not, then the three of us are going to sit down and talk this out.  
  
Back at the Ark…  
"…Roger that Hound, I'm sending Huffer and Brawn to replace Sideswipe and Bluestreak." Hmm, if there's no sign of Megatron, we may be able to get back on track and return to Cybertron with a large stockpile of Energon Cubes. "Ironhide, Cliffjumper, Sunstreaker, as soon as the others get here with Soundwave, take Bluestreak and help speed up the search. Prowl start scanning for activity around the remains of the Nemesis. If my hunch is right, Megatron's spark may have been destroyed in the explosion."  
  
Upon hearing this proclamation, the autobots hurried to fulfill their orders. If Prime was right, then the Great War between the autobots and decepticons might start to lean in the autobots' favor.  
  
After having searched the area for hours, Hound came back with a grin on his face and a piece of metal held in his hand. The others looked just as pleased, it seemed that the terror of Megatron was over. Minutes later, while all the Autobots prepared to celebrate, Ratchet called Optimus Prime into the medbay.  
  
"Glad you could make it Optimus, Soundwave should be up and running in a few seconds. Do you want me to call Prowl and have him send in some guards?"  
  
"No Ratchet, that won't be necessary, I'll handle it myself. I want you and Wheeljack to wait by the doors, if I need you, I'll call."  
  
"Sure Optimus, but the first sign of trouble and we'll come in guns blazing."  
  
"Sure Wheeljack, first sign of trouble and you and Ratchet can rush in guns blazing. Now get going."  
  
As the two reluctant 'bots left. Optimus turned to face the slowly stirring decepticon. Soundwave started to look at his surroundings after checking to make sure he was all there. He looked up and saw the imposing figure of Optimus Prime, leader of he autobots, staring down at him. He started to reach for his gun, but Prime stopped him with a glance that told the communications expert that it would do him no good.  
  
"Well Soundwave, do you have any idea what has happened?"  
  
"An asteroid was on a collision course with our ship. Megatron ordered Reflector and myself to try and steer the Nemesis out of the way, while he went to check on the seekers. We had been given orders to abandon ship if the situation did not improve. When collision with the asteroid was confirmed to be unavoidable, we abandoned ship."  
  
It was hard to tell but you could see the downcast expression that was his face. Prime was glad that he was the one with Soundwave, another 'bot might make fun of him. He was probably awaiting a termination order or something of that sort.  
  
"Soundwave, the tyrant has fallen and his armada has fallen into dissention."  
  
"H-H-How do you know that code, no one but my contact was supposed to know!"  
  
"Alpha Trion told me that if a situation like this occurred, I should find you and say it."  
  
"Well then, I should properly introduce myself. I am Soundwave, communications and infiltration expert of the Wreckers."  
  
"Glad to meet you, welcome back to the autobots. I'm sure your brother Blaster will be glad to know that you are alive and well. I'll have Ratchet help get you back to normal."  
  
"Optimus, tell him that I'm keeping my colouration and configuration, in honor of my former colleagues. Not all of them are bad, some of them are just following orders and friends."  
  
"Interesting, if you could get me a list of those that aren't happy with their situation. Then maybe we can offer them something they might prefer. Anyway, we'll be continuing our search for energy and once we have enough, we'll return to Cybertron."  
  
TransRanma 1/2  
Roughly 4 million years later…  
  
It's a relatively nice day out. The sun is shining, birds are singing, a large amount of yowling and hissing is coming from a pit of cats, flowers are…   
  
"Wait a minute, PIT OF CATS! Guess this is where the story truly begins."  
  
"Of course Unicron, what better place is there?"  
  
"How about at th-"  
  
"Will the two of you pipe down, this could get interesting and please try to refrain from speaking until this entry has run its course."  
  
"Ok, sorry Foxie."  
  
"I'm not gonna make any promises, I am an entity of chaos you know."  
  
"Whatever, lets just get back to the story."  
  
We close in on the pit of cats. We can see a large (as in fat) man in a dirty white gi, a small raven-haired boy in a smaller dirty white gi, and another child hiding in some nearby bushes.  
  
"Ranma my boy, today is the day that we start your training in the greatest of martial arts techniques. So powerful is this technique, that it is feared by all who know of it. It is s-"  
  
"Poppa, are you gonna tell me what it is or do I hafta wait a long time again?"  
  
"Sorry boy, got kind of carried away there. Anyway, today we start your training in the dreaded NEKOKEN!"  
  
"Wow! What do I hafta do?"  
  
"Well first we tie these sardines to you, then I pick you up and put you in the pit with all the little kitties. Not very hard now, is it?" While Genma (as if you hadn't figured it out) was explaining all this to his son, he had wrapped him with the sardines and was carefully prodding his son over to the pit.  
  
"No poppa, that sounds easy!"  
  
"Good boy, 'cause in you go!" And without any further ado, Ranma Saotome was thrown in the pit of cats.  
  
While all this was going on, a small little girl by the name of Ukyo Kuonji was waiting in some nearby bushes. She was currently plotting revenge for what the Saotome's had done to her, but as soon as the yowling, screaming and cries for help started, she quickly decided that it seemed only Genma needed to be punished. Having Genma as a father who did such things to his own son was bad enough for Ranma. She even prepared to rush to his rescue when she heard him cry out for his mom and buddy Ucchan to help him, but it seemed fate had other plans…  
  
…High above the planet earth a spaceship was coming into orbit. If one looked closely enough, strange symbols could be seen on one side. If one could read trinary, they would know it was the name of the ship, The Wanderer.  
  
"Perceptor, haven't we been by this planet before?" Exclaimed a large white robot.  
  
"Why yes Wheeljack, we have." Answered a red one. "It was the planet that had those large brutes that seemed to have little intelligence. We collected samples of some of the species for-"  
  
"Enough prattling scientist. We are here to collect data so we can return to Cybertron and I can get back to fighting a war." Was the terse comment from a robot, who looked like a samurai.  
  
"Calm down Bludgeon. Not all of us are warriors, we appreciate a chance to seek out new information." A tall indigo robot remarked.  
  
"Soundwave is right, we'll be back to Cybertron soon. We're just doing a follow-up study on this planet and we'll be back on Cybertron to implement all the knew ideas and gadgets we've found and developed during our trip."  
  
"Correct Wheeljack, I'll send Laserbeak down now. He'll be able to gather more information while we scan all the transmissions coming from the planet."  
  
"Then let us commence before our erstwhile companion blows a fuse." This earned a chuckle from Wheeljack and Soundwave, while Bludgeon settled for glaring at Perceptor.  
  
10 minutes latter, they receive a strange signal from Laserbeak. After reviewing the transmission Bludgeon gets up from his station and makes his way towards the airlock.  
  
"Where are you going Bludgeon?"  
  
"I'm going to get one of those stasis pod's that Wheeljack invented."  
  
"But I haven't finished testing them yet!"   
  
"And you know how Wheeljack's inventions have a tendency of blowing up!" This comment earned Perceptor a glare from the inventor.  
  
"Then it shall receive a test run. I have no more time for arguments. Be prepared for a critically injured organic patient." And with that Bludgeon took the stasis pod and jumped out the airlock.   
  
Back on terra firma Genma had noticed a change in the noise coming from the pit. He opened it and saw his son lying there a bloody mess. He quickly jumped down and brought his son out of the pit after knocking the cats of him. Maybe it had been a bad idea to get one of those larger cats from the zoo.  
  
All of a sudden a high pitched whistle could be heard followed by a soft thud nearby and a large shadow blocking out the sun. Genma looked up and saw Shinigami staring right back at him. The god of death was wearing samurai armor, but the skull face was a dead give away. Genma made a quick exclamation of "TAKE THE BOY, I'M NOT READY TO DIE!" And he was off like a shot having left his son to the mercy of one he thought a god.  
  
Ukyo quickly came out of hiding and tried to keep Shinigami back. She didn't plan on loosing her best friend and fiancée without a fight. Even if she was mad at him, it probably was his old man's fault anyway.  
  
"You can't take ranchan away. I, Ukyo Kuonji won't let you. He can't die yet, he's too young and we're supposed to get married and have lots of children and stuff!"  
  
"Child," the imposing figure said, "if you do not allow me to take him, he may not survive. If he comes with me, he has a chance at life. Are you willing to let him die, when it is possible he can live?"  
  
Ukyo wasn't sure what to do. The god of death said he could save her ranchan, but was he telling her the truth or lying so he could get ranchan?  
  
"You promise that you'll save him and that I'll be able to see him again?"  
  
"I can only promise to try, one way or another you will learn of his fate, but it may take years."  
  
"Then…please save ranchan and try to bring him back to me."  
  
Through tear filled eyes, Ukyo watched as he loaded Ranma into a metal thingy and closed the lid. Then a large metallic bird came down and took Ranma away. As he prepared to leave, the giant knelt down and wiped Ukyo's face with one of his massive fingers.  
  
"Do not worry child, one day, good or bad, we will meet again. You may not understand this now, but one day you will know you may have saved his life." And with that, he rose into the air and left her alone, sad, happy and confused as to what just happened.  
  
Wheeljack and Perceptor were in the medlab, preparing for a patient that they could only hope to help. Considering the capabilities of the facilities on the Wanderer, it could take a miracle to save an organic being, hopefully Bludgeon knew what he was doing.  
  
Soundwave was currently watching for their erstwhile companion, ready to help the others once he arrived. He was worried by the information that Lazerbeak was relaying to him. There was not much he suspected they could do for the human child, the information collected could be used, but how much it would help was questionable. He started to look up more information when Bludgeon came in the airlock followed by Lazerbeak and the stasis pod. They hurried into the medlab, where Wheeljack and Perceptor waited with the equipment prepped.  
  
Perceptor transformed into his microscope mode and surveyed the damage done to the young human. Afterwards he transformed back and looked at the others while he frowned.  
  
"A cursory evaluation of the subject shows that life signs will drop down 60% from the current status after 10 minutes. We do not have enough time and with our current facilities to fix him up."  
  
"Luckily for us, my stasis pod is working and can keep his body alive until we reach Cybertron."  
  
"Yes Wheeljack, his body will survive, but his spark is slowly fading."  
  
"What are you talking about Bludgeon, he's organic. He doesn't have a spark!"  
  
"You are wrong Wheeljack. All living beings have a spark, the difference is that ours is concentrated into one area, while organics have there's flowing throughout their bodies. Some call it their soul, we call it a spark. And if we don't do something soon, this child's spark will extinguish itself."  
  
"Even if it was feasible to extract his spark from his body, where would we put it. We do not have enough time to build a body for it Bludgeon."  
  
"Well my friends, allow me to present you with a project that Soundwave and I have been working on. Soundwave if you please, tell them what we've got."  
  
"Well one day during our trip, Wheeljack brought to my attention how our bodies are inefficient in their use of energon. I stated that Rumble and the others were more efficient than us at energon use. That got him thinking that if we could make smaller, more efficient bodies, that wouldn't downgrade our capabilities, it would help conserve our supplies and give us an edge over our opponents."  
  
"Exactly, and with these smaller forms we could integrate new transformations into the mix. Like new gestalts or better spy modes or organic modes or-"  
  
"We get the idea Wheeljack. Where have you hidden this latest project?"  
  
"Bludgeon, who said I-"  
  
"We know you like to tinker and start new projects before you get approval, so where is this body?" While he was talking, Bludgeon slowly started to draw his sword.  
  
"Heh, heh, heh, I'll be right back!" So saying, Wheeljack was off like a shot to get the body before Bludgeon used him as a practice droid.  
  
"So now that we have a body, how will we get out the child's spark?"  
  
"Easily Perceptor. I will guide it using my own."  
  
"But Bludgeon, that's to dangerous. You could end up-"  
  
"Dead, of course he could. But his mind is made up, there is not much we can do but prepare any necessary equipment and pray to Primus that this works."  
  
"Quite right, Soundwave. Quite right."  
  
A short while later we can see a strange silver body inside another stasis pod beside the one that is containing Ranma. Bludgeon is siting down, meditating in between them, a hand laid upon the glass covers for each. Soundwave and Wheeljack are doing final preparations on the pods, while Perceptor comes in with a test tube.  
  
"OK Bludgeon, whenever you are ready you can begin."  
  
Slowly a purple glow began to form around Bludgeon as he began his part of the operation. His hand, which was touching the pod where Ranma's body lay, increased in intensity as if trying to summon the spark out of the body. After and hour, a second glow, this time coming from the body, emerged. It was a bright blue and it was slowly flowing into the hand above it.  
  
Shortly Afterwards, Bludgeon's other hand started to glow more intensely. Slowly, as before, a bright blue started to appear, only this time, it went into the new body. All of a sudden the glow stopped and Bludgeon slumped forward, exhausted by the effort. As Perceptor brought the warrior some energon, Soundwave and Wheeljack were entranced by the site of the second pod starting up. A scanner came up out of the side and did a sweep of the area, then it retracted and the whole pod started to glow. There was a bright flash of light and then…  
  
Rewind to the moment Bludgeon started to glow.   
Bludgeon extended himself into the body of the child, looking for his spark. As he moved, he heard crying and went in that direction, he came upon a small child curled up and crying for some one to find him. Bludgeon quickly approached him and sought to get the child's attention.  
  
"Child you are not alone, I have come to take you away from this place."  
  
Ranma looked up and saw the form of a blurry samurai. He rubbed his eyes and checked to make sure he wasn't seeing things. Sure enough, the samurai was still there.  
  
"Who're you?"  
  
"I am Bludgeon and I have come to help."  
  
"Can you take me to my poppa?"  
  
"No, I am sorry child, but at the moment we are very far from you 'poppa'."  
  
"Can you take me to him?"  
  
"Not right now, after I have finished my mission perhaps." Not if I can help it.  
  
"Then I gotta stay here and wait for him."  
  
"Child, if you wait here, you will die. You must come with me so you can live. You do want to live, don't you? Do you not have a goal in life that you wish to accomplish?"  
  
"Poppa said I gotta grow up and be the best martial artist in the world!"  
  
"Quite a task for one so young. If you come with me, I shall help you."  
  
"How you gonna do that mister?"  
  
"Easily, for you should know that I am the grandmaster of the art of Metallikato!"  
  
"Wow, really?"  
  
"Yes, and if you come with me not only shall I become you teacher, but when we are done I shall take you back to see your friend Ukyo."  
  
"Ucchan, you'll take me to see him?"  
  
"Er…yes, and we shall find your mother."  
  
"Yay!!! I'll do it."  
  
"Good then child, follow me and I'll help you get out of here. By the way, what is your name child?"  
"My name is Ranma Saotome, sensei."  
  
"Excellent, now then Ranma lets get you out of here and back with my companions."  
And then the world went white.  
  
When everyone gained use of their optics they noticed that there was a strange creature in the room with them. It was green and had scales, it was short, only coming up to around 2 meters tall, and it had wings. Recognition of what it was slowly came to Perceptor, it was one of those flying creatures form the last time they were here. It seemed more intelligent than the others that he had encountered and it seemed to be looking for something. The creature turned and saw Bludgeon, it then started to move towards him when it stopped to look at its body. After taking stock of its form, the creature looked at the ex-decepticon warrior and made quite the surprising statement, "Sensei, what happened to me?"  
  
"Well Ranma, I believe it would be best for Wheeljack here to explain it to you." He gestured to the scientist who had a strange gleam in his optics, one that a certain red-haired self-proclaimed greatest scientific genius in the universe would have understood.  
  
"I would be happy to, but first allow me to introduce you to my associates. The large indigo colored 'bot to my left is Soundwave, and the red and blue 'bot is Perceptor." The a fore mentioned 'bots nodded and waved to the young Ranma. "Now Ranma, the reason you are in that body is because you would have died if you had stayed in your original body. I decided to use an experimental body I call a 'protoform'. This 'protoform' body has the ability to have an organic alternate mode. I thought it would be easier this way until we find a way to repair your old one. Once we return to Cybertron, I'll be able to start try to repair it, since I'll have better equipment, better facilities and more help. With all those improvements from our current status, you should have your old body back in no time!"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Oh, sorry, forgot you're still only a child. Basically, you'll be in that body until we can fix up your old one."  
  
"How long will that take?"  
  
"We should be back on Cybertron in 2 to 3 of your years, so I'd say you'll be in that body for about 4 years total."  
  
"But that's a really long time!"  
  
"Don't worry Ranma, while we wait, we can begin your training in the art."  
  
"YAY!"  
  
We pan forward through time and see that young Ranma goes through many interesting events.  
  
2 Days into the trip…  
  
"Now Ranma concentrate. Find your focus and let the motions flow."  
  
"But sensei, it's hard. How 'm I supposed to know how ta trensfarm?"  
  
"Its pronounced, 'how to transform', and it's not hard. Just concentrate on finding the answer inside of you and then it will become as easy as walking."  
  
Ranma closed his eyes and went into a deep thinking still pose, quite the feat when you're a pterodactyl. He sat there, wings folded and sitting down as best he could. Suddenly a look of success appeared on his face as he stood and cried "Ranma, Maximize!" After the transformation a robot stood in the place of the pterodactyl. For those of you at home, he looked like Terrorsaur (the TV version) only with green instead of red and white instead of black (kind of like Fractyl). His head looked close to his original, it was more angular and he did still have hair (like some transformers had facial hair), his eyes were a stormy blue with a lighter blue acting as pupils. He was still only a little taller than 2 meters, but at least now he was in a humanoid form.  
  
Bludgeon looked over at Wheeljack and slowly exclaimed "Maximize? Wheeljack, what where you thinking when you were creating the protoform? Have you any idea how your fearless leader is going to react to you creating another faction?"  
  
The scientist looked back sheepishly and tried to explain his reasoning to the warrior. "Well Ranma isn't a knew faction, just part of a new subgroup I was hoping to form. You know, like the Aerialbots or the Cassettes. Don't worry, he won't be alone for long."  
  
Ranma slowly started to move about in his robotic form. Once he was sure he could move around easily, he started to practice his martial arts. Soon, he thought to himself, sensei will start to teach me and I can be the greatest martial artist in the worl-, um maybe I should stick to trying to be the best from home.  
  
2 Weeks later…  
  
"I've done it, I got the sparks from those deactivated transformers to accept the protoform bodies I made for them. Now to start up the final stages of-."  
  
"Uncle Wheeljack, what are you doing?"  
  
"Oh, hi Ranma. I'm just trying to bring these guys back to life so you won't be lonely. Also, this will prove, once and for all, that the protoforms truly work."  
  
"Oh ok. SENSEI, UNCLE PERCEPTOR, UNCLE SOUNDWAVE! UNCLE WHEELJACK'S DOING SOMETHING THAT MIGHT BLOW UP!"  
  
The larger transformer stared down at the smaller with a down cast face as he hurried up to start the final stage before one of his companions could stop him. "Ranma, how could you do that to your poor uncle Wheeljack. I'm just trying to help these poor fellow transformers have a chance at life."  
  
"He does it because if not, I'll not only take away time from his training in the art, but I'll give that time to Perceptor to teach him more things he may or may not need to know."  
  
"Hey, I'm not that bad. Just because I think young Ranma needs to learn about science and other lessons that will help develop his mind and prepare him for later on in life since one can never be to prepare, is no reason to-"  
  
"Perceptor, we get the idea." Bludgeon told the overly wordy scientist as Ranma and Soundwave shook their heads. Perceptor really had a way with words, once you let him start, it could be hours before he stopped. Ranma knew this fact quite well.  
  
"Ha ha, I'm done."  
  
Four heads turned to see four scanners sweep the room before retracting, followed by four flashes of light. All those present easily heard Bludgeon complain. "By the pit, what have you done now Wheeljack?"  
  
Four bodies made themselves known once the light faded. The largest was easily up to 3 meters tall and 5 meters in length. One was another pterodactyl, only colored red, the next was a triceratops, colored a rusty brown, next was a stegosaurus, it was colored a lively green with aquamarine plates, and the last was a tyrannosaurus rex, it was red with a tan underside. They took notice of there surroundings and each let of a cry.  
  
"Swoop, maximize!" "Slag, maximize!" "Snarl, maximize!" "Grimlock, maximize!"  
  
Each of the robots stood at different heights, Swoop was as tall as Ranma, Slag and Snarl stood at around 2.5 meters each, and Grimlock stood at all of around 3 meters. Swoop, Slag, Snarl and Grimlock each resemble Terrorsaur, Triceradon, Striker and T-Wrecks respectively, the only difference was that each had the head of their transformer comic book counter parts. There are other difference like weaponry and the fact that every one of them had 2 hands, but I'll mention those later.  
  
Wheeljack walked up to the group and announced "Ranma, I would like you to meet your brothers the Dinobots!"  
  
All was silent until Ranma finally exclaimed, "YAY!!!!!"  
  
4 weeks after that…  
The brothers had quickly got to know one another and they became quite close. Swoop and Ranma would talk a lot and spend time flying around in either mode trying to help the other improve their abilities. Snarl would bug Perceptor, Soundwave and his father Wheeljack about how this worked or what that button did and learned a lot of science. Slag would spend most of his time talking with his brothers or practicing his fighting capabilities. Grimlock seemed to spend his time worry about the others and doing his best to improve in not only his ability to fight, but also his ability to use strategy. Of course they all learned some martial arts from Bludgeon, Science from Perceptor and Wheeljack, who all the dinobots but Ranma called dad, and all kinds of stuff from Soundwave.  
  
Of course each of them did have their faults, Swoop was a little reckless, Snarl was quiet, Slag was brash, Ranma had an ego and Grimlock thought that out of all of them he was always right. It was quite the sight to see them argue, but 'what do you expect from a bunch of young children' as Perceptor put it.  
  
3 months into there journey…  
  
"Me Grimlock still say that we need to do more work on team efforts."  
  
"Grim, you worry to much. The fly boys can handle themselves in the air, while you, me and Snarl can slag anything that gets in our way!"  
  
"Would you care to back that claim up?" Bludgeon asked as he entered the Wanderer's training room.  
  
"You bet sensei."  
  
"Alright then, if you five can defeat me. Then we will back off on the training and you can have more free time, otherwise I will step up your training from now until we get to Cybertron."  
  
"Alright." Slag was never one to back down from a challenge.  
  
"Well Swoop, think we're up to it?" Ranma asked the other pterodactyl while smirking.  
  
"Of course Ranma, the five of us should be able to do it." Swoop responded with his own smirk.  
  
"Well, if we work as a team, then me Grimlock think we can do it. What you say Snarl?"  
  
The quiet dinobot looked at his brothers, seeing them eager for a chance to prove themselves. He had to ask "Sensei, you are much bigger that us, you also have more skill and you're a pretender. I'm not sure if this is a fair test."  
  
"Well said Snarl. I'll remain in my shell and only use my fists, feet and sword to render you all unconscious. Does that sound fair?"  
  
"Yes sensei, that sounds fair. I am ready."  
  
"Ok, ready?" Seeing them get into stances and receiving nods from all those present he quickly said "Begin!" and he was upon them in an instant. Slag charged forward, sword drawn, as Swoop and Ranma took to the air. Bludgeon easily parried the sword strike that Slag sent his way and used a leg sweep to knock him off his feet then used an uppercut to sent him into the wall and into unconsciousness. Grimlock and Snarl quickly moved to opposite sides of their sensei as Ranma and Swoop tried to keep him busy with aerial attacks. Swoop flew high then tried to dive bomb Bludgeon while Ranma followed a punch with a roundhouse. Unfortunately, Bludgeon saw Swoop's attack and guided him into Ranma, sending them to the ground as he took a swing with his sword at the other two.  
  
Grim and Snarl dodged out of the way and Grim called for everyone to form up and get ready to charge all at once. With a battle cry, they charged forward ready for their sensei to dodge or parry allowing them to get in close and use their size to their advantage. They did not expect him to stand there glowing. All of a sudden he slices the air in front of him while yelling "Kyokuenmai!" A blast of energy shoots forward knocking them all back and allowing them to join their brother in the realm of enforced slumber.  
  
Bludgeon looked at his students with pride. They were improving every day and meshed together well. They had even held on for a whole minute and ten seconds. That was a ten second improvement on the last time they had tried to defeat him. He became slightly depressed when he remembered that Ranma was not a true transformer and that he might one-day want to return to his original body. Bludgeon had found him a joy to teach, he would learn techniques in half the time the training should. He had started to think of Ranma as his own, and it would hurt if, no when, Ranma decided to become human once more. Slowly, Bludgeon, grandmaster of the art of Metallikato, ex-decepticon, warrior/defender of Cybertron arranged his students into more comfortable positions, took a look at the brothers and walked out of the training room. He needed to talk with someone, and his best chance was to find either Soundwave or Wheeljack, and hope they were not busy. He really didn't want to talk with Perceptor about this. Quietly, like the space outside the ship, Bludgeon moved off to find answer to questions he never expected to have.  
  
To be continued…  
…I hope  
Where do I plan on going with this?  
Well Ranma will grow up among the transformers and will be changed in certain ways but the same in others. When he reaches around 16 earth years old, he'll come back and started to interact with humans. How will everyone treat him once they meet him? How will Genma react to meeting 'Shinigami' again only to find that his son is alive and well?  
What will happen when Ranma's brothers and some of the other autobots come to earth?  
Will anybody have a Jusenkyo curse? (Of course, I'm just not sure which ones!)  
You'll just have to wait and see.  
  
C&C is welcome. Flames might be read, depends on whether they have any thought put behind them or not. Otherwise all flames will be put out by Inferno and the Protectobots.  
My address is bladewing99@hotmail.com  
  
This is Bladewing signing off before anyone tries to tell me Ranma and Akane are the perfect people for each other. Yeah right! 


	15. Into Dreams

Organizer's Note: WFROSE, I must offer my apologies. Time and life got away from me, and I forgot to post your fic. It's probably too late now for it to make a decent run, but I'll post it in such an effort anyway. Good luck, my friend. You've won my vote.  
  
  
The 2nd Bet  
  
'Into Dreams'  
  
Ranma/NiGHTS into Dreams crossover  
  
  
  
The more Toltiir thought about 'Foxie's' idea, the less he was beginning to like it. Having another bet would be a good way to shake out the conundrum of constant Ranma and Sailor moon mergers and crossings (Why in the infinite planes did that particular crossover tend to happen so often anyhow?), but the most grating thing about the situation was that the lesser spirits could enter. Keeping the Gods in line was bad enough, but now the workload was just going to overflow.  
  
The cat groused, as it felt the presence of something with way too little power for his tastes. "Goody, another one. So you think you can play with the big boys?"  
  
An androgynous character, dressed in a purple harlequin's outfit, with lush eyes that held a child's joy, and a knowing smirk of a wise man that knew the way and nature of things, glided towards its feline host. Spinning once, then bowing in a way an ostentatious showman would, the would-be entriest presented him/herself, and awaited acknowledgement. Toltiir cocked his head once he realized what type of spirit was before him.  
  
"Interesting, a dream spirit, Nightmeran I believe. What do you plan to do?" The dream spirit just shrugged in a jovial manner and gestured to the pool, awaiting the power boost that would provide him/her access...  
  
  
__________________________________________  
  
  
Three weeks.  
  
It's been three weeks and the nightmares weren't easing any. Ranma rocked in a fitful slumber, disturbing imagery and words assailing him in the dream plane. No one in the household bothered to come check up on him, assuming it was just his usual reoccurring nightmare about cats at the times he shot up screaming. Most times he awoke frantically but silent, the despair he felt holding a lifeless girl in his hands, eyes closed to the world forever...  
  
  
  
No matter how hard he fought, and each night he dreamed he had fought harder than before, but he still failed her. Each time he would *just* get to the fountain and both would awash in the mystical waters, and each time her eyelids would twitch, but never flutter open. Her breathing would never return, her skin remained pasty, as a doll's.  
  
It was a despair that rotted the very core of Ranma Saotome; in his dreams he would die right with her, or at least he wanted to. Unfortunately he felt the sneers and looks of contempt upon his back; their taunts wrapping around him like a python crushing, and in paradox, sustaining his life.  
  
"Pathetic Ranma! You LET Akane die! She didn't deserve that, OR you!" An unfelt tear slowly trailed down the pigtailed boy's cheek, no matter how much he wanted to tune it out, he was going to be made to hear every word. "I should kill you for this, rip you to shreds and leave you as lifeless as the girl you failed," Sneered Ryoga, but then continued, "but you're not worth my rivalry. You're just as garbage to me."  
  
"Aiyah, Aire... Pigtail boy not strong as Shampoo thought," came an ironically perky voice that was tinged with consideration and contempt, "Shampoo happy to find out soon. Ranma too weak to marry strong womens."  
  
"The kiss of Marriage... is annulled," proclaimed a withered voice, as Cologne pogoed out of the darkness, her eyes emotionless and cold to Ranma, as if she was observing a specimen in a petri dish. "Come Shampoo, Mousse, it is time we returned. Let us leave this... boy... to his misery."  
  
Mousse looked like he was going to say something, but almost immediately his demeanor changed as he realized it just wasn't worth it. Bugs that small were to be ignored, not worth the energy to crunch them under the heel.  
  
"Shampoo ready, Spatula Girl can have weak male now."  
  
"Nu-uh, Sugar. I've already spent enough time on this two-bit loser. Feh, couldn't even save one of his fiancées, you think someone like that is worth bothering over? And he thought it was his curse that made him less of a man..."  
  
Ranma worked up the energy to speak, desperation in his voice like salt in the sea, "Ucchan, are-aren't we friends?" Everyone was beginning to abandon him, he needed someone.  
  
Ukyo strode up to him, her eyes shadowed, but her mouth pulled into a smirk and cheerfully said, "Why, Ranchan, who would want to be friends with trash like you?" With that she bent down and patted him on the back, then strode away, fading into the darkness with the Amazons and Ryoga.  
  
"Ranma, Ranma, Ranma," Kasumi was next to come into view from the darkness, followed by Nabiki. Kasumi wore her usual cheery smile, but it felt different, like the difference between the rays of the sun and the emptiness of the abyss, "and to think I cooked, cleaned, and looked after you for all this time. I'll now have time to do other things it seems.  
  
Nabiki's scowl spoke volumes. Her righteous anger combined with her usual countenance that made Ranma's Soul of Ice seem like a summer breeze. He could imagine the waves of mist flowing around her.  
  
"Ranma, you're not welcome into our house no longer. If I had known back then what I know now, I would have stayed sober the night I made that pledge with your father," Soun's voice was solemn and sterile of emotion as he spoke.  
  
"This... refuge is not my son," simply stated a speaking panda  
  
  
Others had shown up; Ranma's mother didn't even acknowledge him as he cried out for her attention as she walked by. Even if it was in demand that he commit seppuku for his failure, he just wanted her words. She continued by, her back straightened at his wails and she shifted the Saotome honor sword in her grasp; never bothering to turn back around. Kuno couldn't have sounded more contemptuous towards Ranma as his sister disclaimed him. Friends of Ranma and Akane's from school showed no fear as they told him exactly their feelings on the matter. All Ranma could do was sit still as the constricting feeling around him tightened with each venomous word hurled towards him. But the coupe de grace came from the rapidly cooling figure in his arms...  
  
"I should have known better than to believe in you."  
  
  
That was the point Ranma had woken up every time, but this time was different. Ranma felt a glimmer of something. Something that he thought had died when Akane never took another breath...  
  
Hope  
  
The pigtailed boy turned towards the direction he felt the now foreign seeming emotion originated. A pinprick of light, barely perceptible to his eye at first, began to grow, drawing a beam of light that turned into an illuminated path.  
  
Ranma looked back down at the body of Akane just in time to see it sifting from his grasp like sand. Everyone that had tormented him in his dream grew into ogres and devils, pointing and taunting the emotionally wounded boy as he felt the need to escape.  
  
Ranma dashed onto the path with all his might, knowing wherever it lead to would be much better than here. As he ran, the darkness around him warped into a primarily violet light show, with wisps of white lights flying about.  
  
Ranma found his destination just in front of him. The pinprick seemed like an exit, or an entrance to another place. Ranma desperately reached for it...  
  
  
________________________________________  
  
  
  
Akane dreamt of her prom. For several weeks after the last wedding incident, she had been preparing for it, and she looked dazzling. She nervously awaited her date for the night she was supposed to remember for the rest of her life.  
  
Ranma strolled down and lazily walked into the living room to sit in front of the TV. Akane would have been irked at his gall, if it weren't for the fact that he wasn't dressed to go.  
  
Slowly, extreme surprise was replaced by growing anger when she finally spoke, "Ranma, why aren't you ready for our prom?"  
  
The pigtailed boy looked towards Akane with a dumbfounded look, "Who said I was going to go with you?"  
  
Akane once again stood shocked, she had assumed...  
  
"Look at you, a tomboy all gussied up and ready to go, sorry but I got other plans."  
  
Akane paused, that sounded like one of his usual taunts, but there was something missing. No, replaced by... by contempt? The raven-haired girl focused on Ranma's face, and stepped back with a gasp. The expression there was totally alien to her from him, and she didn't know how to handle it. Ranma didn't look like his usual smug self after a shot at his fiancée; he looked more annoyed and contemptuous towards her.  
  
"Ranma, you jerk!" Even to her own ears, the words seemed to lose their potency as she brought her mallet out of hyperspace preparing to deliver her rightful vengeance. As soon as she brought it down to strike, without turning from the TV Ranma's hand snaked out and ripped it from her grasp and tossed it away. Akane shivered, realizing that he had NEVER done that before, and that he could have at any time.  
  
"My dear *little* sister, did you really think you could keep treating him like that and get away with it?" questioned Nabiki's voice behind her. Akane turned to see her look with an expression almost the same as Ranma's, except her eyes were laughing at her.  
  
"But, but, HE DESERVED IT!" Akane yelled indignantly, knowing that argument always won for her. This time though, it lacked its finalizing conviction.  
  
"Oh my, Akane, when will you grow up? In that dress you look just like a little girl playing princess," Kasumi's words were a bit confusing to Akane. She wasn't sure if she was being insulted, or if Kasumi was just being her usual aloof self.  
  
"Ha! Kitchen destroyer never grow up! She spoiled brat that can't cook, can't fight, can't..."  
  
Ranma's voice joined Shampoo's  
  
"...do anything right, built like a brick, thighs too thick..."  
  
Ukyo suddenly appeared and the three continued in chorus.  
  
"Ugly as a mule, twice as strong!"  
  
The trio and the rest of the Tendou family, Soun and Kasumi included, laughed, as tears streaked down Akane's cheek. Every insecurity she felt was brought to the forefront, along with the main one that cut the deepest.  
  
"Ranma, please..." Akane gasped, suddenly emotionally overwhelmed and desperately grasping for even the smallest bit of approval from Ranma.  
  
The pigtailed boy scowled at her and turned away, putting an arm over Shampoo and Ukyo, "Comon, you two, why don't we go and see what this prom thing is all about?"  
  
Suddenly all three of them were dressed in regal outfits. Akane looked around to see her sisters and her father wearing expensive dresses and suits, accompanied by everyone that would be at her Junior Prom. Akane realized that she also was in Furinkan High's gym, where the prom was to be held. Everyone seemed to be sneering at her before she caught the whispers of 'little girl' floating around.  
  
The raven haired girl looked down at her own gown, noticing that it lost its luster, and hung down on her like an old drapery. Her esteem dropped to danger levels as she turned with teary eyes away, looking for an escape.  
  
She pushed through the crowds of people who wouldn't spare her the courtesy or the effort to part for her, as her eyes caught a glimmer at the other end of the school gym-turned-dancehall. She fought furiously to reach the other end, the task seeming to be infinite as the gym seemed to fill with more people (she could have sworn she had seen many of the same people twice and even three times) and the gym grew longer.  
  
Finally, after enduring the gauntlet, she reached it, and the comforting light from the other end beckoned her...  
_____________________________________________  
_____________________________________________  
  
Awake...  
  
Ranma let out a silent scream as he shot up from bed. He had escaped the torturous hell that his own mind submitted him to every night, since after they returned from battling the Phoenix Tribe and Saffron. The pigtailed boy shook in remembered horror and frustration; they had won, the now infantile demi-god wouldn't be a threat for years to come, if ever. Akane was safe and among the living, despite how close of a call it had come to, the status quo is back to where it should be in Nerima.  
  
Then why did he still feel damned?  
  
_____________________________________________  
  
  
Ranma drearily made his way down to breakfast, earning only a few concerned, yet terse glances from everyone else at the table.  
  
"Oh my, Ranma, are you okay this morning?" Kasumi enquired as she set the plates out for the morning meal.  
  
"I'm fine," Ranma lied, though as tired and bedraggled as he felt and sounded, it couldn't be disclosed if it were truth or not by anyone else.  
  
Everyone else that is, other than Kasumi. The eldest Tendou sister gave the young man a concerned look, before returning to the kitchen.  
  
Ranma looked around, and realized the absence of someone. He began to feel the panic that usually overcame him, the morning after the nightmare whenever he didn't see her almost instantly. Maybe it wasn't a dream after all, maybe he had failed the girl he lov... he deeply cared for.  
  
Hiding his nervousness, Ranma inquired, "Wha, where's Akane?"  
  
"She's in the bath still, I don't believe she had much sleep either," Soun stated, glancing over his newspaper.  
  
"Boy, have you been keeping your fiancée up all night?" Genma asked sternly, peering intently at his son, "because I fully endorse it!" The bald martial artist produced a pair of victory fans.  
  
"Oh, yes indeed! Though you may want to finish early on school nights, Ranma-kun," Soun threw in, only paying token attention to local matters.  
  
"Oh my, Ranma. I'm afraid that isn't proper behavior. You should at least wait until you're married!"  
  
Nabiki came down the stairs, dressed for school, and managed to catch the topic of conversation, "Or at least until prom night. You're off to a false start, Ranma."  
  
"Hah? Prom?" Ranma inquired, minutely confused from the morning fog in his head. Akane happened to walk in at that moment, and heard Ranma's inquiry. A pit in her stomach that she had barely noticed made itself apparent to her, emptying her insides in favor of a hollow feeling.  
  
"Yes, Prom, that big dance everyone in high school considers attending, that big dance that my dear little sister's been running herself ragged to prepare for? The one that's only three days off?" Nabiki continued to drop hints, after eyeing her younger sister's response.  
  
"It's okay, really, Nabiki," Akane interrupted, trying to sound nonchalant about it. Only a completely dense fool could miss the hollow tone in her obviously faked sanguine attitude.  
  
Ranma felt the anxiety leave him at Akane's voice; she was still with him. He then found it again once he saw Akane's face. There was a bit of disappointment there, from what, he could not place. It served to make him all that more nervous, "Is, is it because of me? What did I say this time?"  
  
"Something wrong, Akane?" he said, as if testing the waters of a boiling lake. Akane seemed like she had been jolted from a trance, and gave Ranma a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. Ranma focused on her dual orbs, noticing a lack of luster; onyx in blue light that had failed to be polished.  
  
"I'm fine, Ranma, have you decided if you're going to go..." Akane's eyes flickered away from Ranma's intense gaze at them, "...or not?"  
  
Ranma looked around pleadingly for help, none would be given, as everyone seemed to be on the edge of their seats for his answer. Ranma considered how Akane was acting, and found himself more than a little concerned.  
  
"I should have known better than to trust in you"  
  
Ranma blinked, and felt his chest clench, "What did you say, Akane?" His question was rather hesitant, and laden with a heavy undertone of weary caution.  
  
Akane perceived Ranma's inquiry as evading her own question. The girl gave a sigh, before speaking again, "Never mind, Ranma. I think you'd be bored with a normal school dance anyway." Akane sat down, as her oldest sister arrived with the morning meal.  
  
It was slightly more subdued around the table than previous, everyone seeming to absorb the atmosphere that was emanating from Ranma and Akane. It was common for the two to grouse, but there was something different. Akane didn't seem to fume as she usually did, and Ranma was extremely placid. Every so often the two would glance between themselves, each time just missing catching each other.  
  
"He... is he ignoring me?" Akane thought, looking back from her fiancée to her meal. Suddenly she wasn't hungry.  
  
"Excuse me..." Akane mumbled, removing herself from the table.  
  
Ranma looked up in slight panic, anxious over what he had done wrong, "Akane?"  
  
"I'm going on ahead to school," Akane replied, not turning to look at Ranma, "I'll see you there." Akane gathered her supplies, and headed for the front door, each step she took hammering something away in Ranma.  
____________________________________________  
  
Ranma knew he did something, but he couldn't figure out for the life of him what it was. It was apparent to him that he managed to hurt Akane, but whatever it was, she kept it close to the vest. Ranma watched his fiancée during lunch from a distance, as she talked with her group of friends. She didn't seem to contain her usual sanguine attitude; her smile was strictly cosmetic, her voice held a completely forced cheeriness. The pigtailed boy focused closer, he could almost see Akane becoming... smaller, in a withdrawn sense.  
  
Realization came to Ranma; he had to have done something truly terrible to do this to Akane. A reoccurring dream came to the fore of his mind, and began to hungrily eat further away at the seemingly infinite confidence of Saotome Ranma.  
____________________________________________  
  
Akane listened to her friends at the edge of her conscious. They were animated and vibrant, talking about their plans for the upcoming dance; a stark contrast to Akane, whose participation in the chatter of her friends was token at best. She imagined that they were silently noting her flaws, and though on an intellectual level she knew otherwise, she couldn't help but feel as if she were being found wanting.  
  
"I envy Akane; just imagine, Ranma in a tux!" one of the girls squealed excitedly.  
  
Akane refocused at the mention of her name. She had caught the sentence, and almost smirked at the memory of Ranma in a white tux, standing at the end of a wedding isle, awaiting her.  
  
Suddenly, Akane felt more elated than she had in weeks, since the dream started. Ranma was waiting for *her*! Not for Shampoo, not for Ukyo, but for her. It may have taken knocking him unconscious and dressing him while he was out cold...  
  
That's just it, wasn't it? Akane knew that he wouldn't have willingly gone through it... for her. He had to be forced into doing so through physical subduing and bribery (the bribe not mentioned until later notwithstanding). It wasn't for her benefit. Akane knew then, that Ranma couldn't possibly want her. Things had become calm between them, with their fathers no longer pressuring the two together. The other two fiancées were giving Ranma a good amount of berth, but Akane knew it wouldn't last for long. Ranma would forgive them, no doubt, and once again they'll begin to slowly impose themselves between Akane and him.  
  
"A-Akane? Are you okay?" Yuka drew the quietly sobbing girl into her arms, looking at her equally puzzled friends.  
  
Ranma would have been compelled to do something, if he were in the area at the time.  
__________________________________________  
  
Throughout the rest of school, Ranma's deduction had been made completely valid in his mind. Everyone at school had looked upon him with cold eyes, condemning him for whatever crime he had committed against his fiancée.  
  
Akane's circle of friends formed a conclusion to the reason of Akane's breakdown; Ranma did something BIG. News, as usual about the couple, spread throughout the school. And again, as usual, everyone sided with Akane.  
  
Ranma kept his head covered on the desk, feeling almost as bad as when he had thought Akane dead back at Jusendo. He decided he would rather wallow in his own misery, than face any of the accusing stares that he was getting occasionally from his schoolmates. He had been used to them before, but with recent events, they hurt quite a bit more.  
  
Not too far, one person was elated at the state of affairs between Ranma and Akane. The girl with flowing brunette hair saw an opportunity appearing. She didn't quite know how to approach Ranma at the moment, but soon, he'll need a friend.  
  
Akane kept her head down, not wanting to see the pity in anyone's eyes. She had cracked, she couldn't help it. It was like a pressure on her heart had been increasing, until she couldn't help but give it outlet. All she could do was ride the rest of the day out, and then get home and relax, maybe some intense training will help steady her nerves. Nobody bothered Ranma or Akane through out the rest of the school day.  
__________________________________________  
  
"I'm home," Akane called out in a weary voice that told anyone paying attention how her day went.  
  
"Hello Akane, do you know what's wrong with Ranma? He came home rather upset," Kasumi called from the kitchen. Her little sister's mood hadn't been lost on her, and she presumed it might have been something shared between the two. A bit of prying may help clarify things.  
  
Akane didn't answer, worrying Kasumi even further. The eldest Tendou daughter stepped out from the kitchen to confront her little sister, and found her already heading upstairs.  
__________________________________________  
  
Ranma had holed up in his room, saturating it with his own angst. His worry had grown steadily since getting home. Everyone knew it was his fault now, he had heard Akane arrive, and was pretty sure that know Kasumi was privy to whatever Ranma did to thoroughly upset her. Eventually the whole household would find out, he wouldn't stop it, he knew he had failed her, and deserved whatever beratement they would throw upon him.  
  
Saotome's confidence continued to dwindle.  
__________________________________________  
  
Brooding in his room had gotten old, but he wasn't ready to face Akane just yet. Ranma steeled himself out the door, just in time to meet face to face with Akane heading downstairs in her gi.  
  
"Ra-Ranma..."  
  
"Akane..." neither knew what to say after that, a palette of emotions thrown precariously onto a canvas, and displayed upon their faces. Akane was the first to find her voice.  
  
"I... I have to go train," with that, the young girl quickly headed down stairs. Ranma raised a hand in consideration of stopping her, to find out what he had done wrong, but he just couldn't deal with any of the anger, betrayal, or sadness that his fiancée may feel.  
  
Akane berated herself for running. She needed to confront Ranma, because the uncertainty was slowly consuming her. She needed to desperatly, but she wouldn't dare face the contemptuous look that he could have; looking down at the half-rate play martial artist that seemed to believe he had some sort of intrest in her.  
  
He quietly went back into his room, and didn't bother to come out for dinner. Akane practiced until it was time for bed.  
__________________________________________  
  
Akane lay in bed, fighting sleep, and berating herself for it.  
  
"Ugh, it's just a stupid dream. Why is it bothering me so much?"  
__________________________________________  
  
"Look at me, scared of a stupid dream, the great Ranma Saotome," Ranma thought snidely, staring up at the ceiling of his room. "Yeah, great. I can't even keep myself from hurting Akane" His thought became cooler and more agonizing the longer they went, "Maybe she's better off without me..."  
  
Neither Akane, nor Ranma would know the time they finally submitted to slumber.  
___________________________________________  
  
Akane pushed her way through the thick prom crowd, trying desperately to reach the light. They were much more dense than before, and their taunts and jeers felt much more deeply cutting than last time. Akane forced her growing insecurity down, and continued to swim through the ocean of people between her and her goal.  
  
Finally, after much trial, she ran into the blue light that beckoned her like a savior.  
___________________________________________  
  
Ranma fiercely fought off his father, Ryoga, Cologne, Happosai, and others that impeded his run for sanctuary, the light that lay just beyond him in a slight distance. He failed Akane, but something told him that he would find salvation if he could just reach the light. Akane had already scorned him in her death, but he would keep fighting for her. Slowly dragging the chain he was wrapped in, and fighting against the combined might of his foes trying to drag him back towards misery; Ranma stumbled through the portal to another realm.  
___________________________________________  
  
Ranma/Akane found him/herself in a land that was so breathtaking. The beach/flowered field Ranma/Akane found him/herself in left the pigtailed boy/raven-haired girl in awe. It was a glorious contrast to his/her prior predicament that almost seemed to wash away his/her current pains. Ranma/Akane noticed his/her attire, he/she was wearing his favorite red and black outfit/ her school uniform, and found that there wasn't anything else he/she would have preferred to wear. Ranma's/Akane's observations were cut off as they noted a squad of fantastic creatures heading their way, beings only found on the edge of a dream. Ranma/Akane looked for a direction to flee, and saw on a sandy dune/flower dressed hill a parasol with a harlequin that seemed to be trapped within it.   
  
The jester's large and expressionate eyes pleaded with Ranma/Akane, as it spun around and flipped in its confinement, ignoring the laws of physics as a dream only can. Ranma/Akane rushed/wearily approached it; the pigtailed boy/short-haired girl knew it was his/her duty to help those in need. Without hesitation/with heavy caution, Ranma/Akane attempted to punch through/reached out a hand to feel the barriers of the captive's confinement. To his/her surprise, Ranma's/Akane's fist passed right through it/hand pushed easily through it, causing/allowing him/her to stumble forward/push her arm through. The harlequin quickly reached for Ranma's/Akane's outstretched fist/hand...  
  
The jester's voice sang akin to a whistle with an optimistic tune, as it shot into the air, spinning in gleeful and joyous freedom.  
  
Prepare to Fly  
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Akane's first Dream; The Befriendment  
  
  
Akane attempted to laugh, but her voice had caught in her from the overwhelming feeling of excitement. The exhilarating feeling of flight had taken her so fully; all her troubles of the waking world had been left on the ground. Akane barrel rolled as fast as she could, then shot straight up into the air, then sharply dropped down, flipping herself to her upright position before she hit the ground.  
  
She had now taken a look at her environment; it was, so simply yet eloquently put, beautiful and surreal. She rose higher into the air to see more. If the feeling of flying left her breathless...  
  
Mountains that stretched to the crystalline blue and sparsely clouded sky surrounded the massive flower field filled with oversized daffodils and sunflowers. In the midst of it all, a mighty pine tree stood in the center, pristine and as perfect as any such tree could be found. Erasers for pencils rubbed out any flaws that could be seen about. Akane wanted to giggle when one of the erasers approached her, orbited around her, and zoomed on it's way, but found her laugh a lyrical and pleasant cluster of bell chimes and whistles.  
  
Akane scrunched her face, as a flower pedal that was for a peculiar reason falling from the sky landed against it. She couldn't comprehend why the sight of such beautiful things that dwindled to the earth below upset her slightly.  
  
Akane looked down upon herself. Her sleeves were cuffed with yellow and violet triangles, like the strange jester's attire she had seen only a few instances ago. She looked further down and saw herself in a leotard of matching violet, with the legs muffed in a lighter purple and blocked off at the top of the foot to the heel with a yellow tracing line. It was vested in purple at the chest with four yellow stars, two at each side. What really caught the transformed girl's attention was the glowing purple gem in her chest. Akane spun in the air, trying to look about herself to fully view the changes on her.  
  
Before Akane could contemplate the transformation, she heard weeping. Akane looked up to see one of the fantastic creatures she had seen earlier, a small alligator with wings of a large fly, heading towards her. Akane lifted into the air quickly, as the creature got within range to attack. Like a darting fly, the beast quickly changed direction to cut her off. Akane looped back, just barely missing her foot being bitten off. To her surprise, a black hole appeared from where she had looped, swallowing her pursuer and placing it in parts unknown. Akane imagined she blinked, and smiled. The transformed girl made several more loops; sounds of shifting air accompanied the portals she created.  
  
Akane decided to take more joy out of her flying, dancing precariously in the air without care, before she felt an urge, like another part of herself telling her she had tasks elsewhere. Akane looked off into the distance, and saw a rose pink sphere of radiance, trapped in a glass floating dome. It was slowly shrinking and losing it brilliant vibrancy, and Akane knew that the dome was siphoning it away until it was a withered shadow of what it used to be. Akane knew she had to stop it.  
  
Akane dashed in the air towards the objective, delighting in the speed she traveled through the air, weaving through the floating mandalas, and indulging in the twinkle of the bells she touched. She reached the dome, and pushed as hard as she could, finding that the smooth glass would not budge. She resorted to pounding on it, and it remained just as stubborn. Akane backed off from the dome with a spin. From its reflection she saw her face. She had become the strange being she had found in the parasol. The soft and friendly eyes looked back at her with a twinkling of mirth, which seemed out of place from the comically small mouth she had that presently formed an 'o' from her surprise. Akane couldn't resist the urge to take her index fingers and stretch her mouth apart, wagging her tongue at the reflection. After a fit of bell twinkling giggles, Akane went back to the task at hand, finding a way to destroy the dome that held the beautiful orb of energy.  
  
A thought came unbidden to the fore of her mind, "a song of joy will shatter the dome of sorrow." Akane didn't know what the reference was referring to, but rationalized that she needed to find a song. In the distance, a faint melody made itself known, and the girl-turned-harlequin flew in the direction it originated to investigate.  
  
Akane found herself much more hindered by the mountains in her flight, but still almost effortlessly maneuvered through them. She found herself opposed to more creatures, such as a badger with grasshopper hind legs, and dealt with them in the manner she had learned; looping them and sending them into the black oblivion.  
  
Akane cleared the mountains and dropped down low, skimming over the rolling sea of grass and flowers. A trail of flower petals that were spurred up from flowers was left in her wake, dancing in the air in the motions the wind currents lead them. She was approaching the sound of what appeared to be a violin playing en solo, but off key and in broken notes. She quickly hit breaks at the sight of who was playing the instrument rather poorly; a redheaded girl in a pink and flowery dress sitting cross-legged on a log in front of a dark and untidy looking fortress. Akane cautiously floated down to confront this dream Ranma-chan, when the girl noticed her and giggled, and then gestured to the violin she was holding.  
  
Before Akane could respond, Ranma-chan laughed and started to run away. Akane blinked, then gave chase after the other girl. The farther she ran, the larger she became until she was overwhelmingly large. Akane noticed that the inside of the building was a long corridor of interweaving willow trees and leaking plumbing. Vaguely she could hear "do you want to be friends?" whispered in the background.  
  
Suddenly, the giant Ranma-chan giggled and spun, flaring the skirt of her dress out and sending pansies and wilted yellow roses flying through the air. Akane dodged and weaved through the barrage, attempting to get close to the girl.  
  
"Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken!" Ranma-chan cried out in a surreal voice, her oversized fists blurring beyond the visible realm. Akane fought against the wind generated from the attack, trying to keep stable in the air. As valiant as she fought, Akane couldn't help but be pushed into a wall made of faulty lead piping and sickly tree branches. She managed not to touch it, but felt the heat from it. Akane's already enlarged eyes opened wider, and her face became akin to a child's wonder and surprise; there was hot water in the pipes. She looked around and saw several valves that were slightly leaking, possibly extremely weak.  
  
Akane smirked as she got her bearing straight, the trick may not be to attack this mock Ranma-Chan directly.  
  
Ranma-chan started to run gleefully away again, sporting away the violin in her grasp. Akane caught up with the large redhead, and flew right past her. Ranma stopped and blinked in confusion, watching her playmate shoot past her instead of trying to take the musical instrument away. Akane flew into a valve, putting her hands forward, and breaking it off.  
  
Ranma-chan yelped in surprise, dodging out of the way of the steaming stream of water that shot towards her. She spun again, flaring her dress and sending flowers flying about. The pansies altered the course of the jet of hot water, no longer making it a danger to the girl.  
  
Akane now knew the girl was afraid of the hot water. She rammed into another valve, and once again Ranma dodged it, but this time much more narrowly. She again spun about, sending flowers around to protect her, and called out her attack to impede Akane. The harlequin would not be deterred, as she coasted against the wind and rammed another valve. Ranma just barely dodged it, and spun more flowers out. Again she was protected, but it was apparent she was now trapped, and running out of maneuvering room. Akane looked around, and plotted her next move. She quickly rammed another valve, ricocheting off and ramming another one, which in turn sent her on another course into a third valve. Ranma-chan managed to dodge the first two streams, but was enveloped by the third.  
  
With a squawk of surprise, the girl dropped the violin. Akane swooped in and caught the instrument when it shrunk to size, and turned to see what happened to the other girl. In her place stood a handsome young man in a pigtail, nodding to her with a smirk, before fading away.  
  
Akane looked around again, finding herself back in the flower field again. Without hesitation, she flew with the violin towards the dome in the distance. When she arrived, she felt the violin stir by itself. Startled, Akane let go of it, and it began to play. Its song was beautiful, uplifting Akane's mood even more as the concert of the single instrument went on. Under the melody, the dome began to buckle, then crack, then finally shatter; allowing the rose pink ball of energy to expand, and envelope the area...  
__________________________________________  
  
Akane turned on her side and smiled slightly in slumber, feeling better than she had in a while.  
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The next morning, Akane felt more refreshed then she had in a while. Akane took her bath and headed for the table for breakfast. This time it was her who noticed someone was missing from the table.  
  
"Uh, where's Ranma?" Akane enquired, trying not to sound too concerned.  
  
"He said something about having to go to the Cat Cafe. He needed to talk with one of the Amazons.  
  
"Oh," Akane replied in a small voice, Ranma must have gone to see Shampoo. With her sigh, a tiny ember of the negative feeling she originally felt began to grow again within her heart.  
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Ranma's first dream; 'The affection'  
  
  
Ranma exalted in the feeling he hadn't felt since he was so young, before that fateful training trip. The incredible feeling that he was experiencing, as he soared as high as he wanted into the air, then dropped down low to just barely skimming the sands of the beach.  
  
Ranma glided the loose sand , idly noting the bare footprints appearing in the sand from invisible feet , and finding it curious that there were no seashells on the beach. He rose into the air, allowing a stampede of eleven pale horses to run where he had been flying. A black horse trailed behind them, intensely trying to catch up, Ranma felt sympathy for it as it raced on.  
  
Ranma glanced at the mingled white and red coral reef that jutted from the waters, while weaving through the unfinished houses that floated in the air. Ranma began to consider where he was; it seemed so familiar, like he had come here for a task. Fortunately, a voice inside reminded him of what he needed to do.  
  
Ranma didn't go far before something caught his eye. A cluster of musical notes floated in the air, which Ranma sped towards and collected in one fail swoop. A small contented feeling told Ranma that he was doing what he had come here for.  
  
Doing a tight loop in the air, Ranma shot to the ground. He stopped as he heard a 'shooping' sound, like air rushing to fill a vacuum behind him. Putting the mystery off, Ranma set to his task of finding a song that he could vaguely recall. He felt himself directed back to the sandy shore, meandering around the pieces of a large western game he recalled by the name of 'Chess' , and also noted that the invisible players were cheating severely in it . The event earned a chuckle from Ranma, who immediately hushed himself once he noticed the sound of it; like tiny bells and pan flutes. His laugh also attracted another, a gargoyle that had been perched atop one of the immobile chess pieces. It made a beeline for Ranma, who caught its approach and went to guard immediately.  
  
The creature approached, and then dove for Ranma, who easily circled around it, finding the Saotome School of martial arts humorously appropriate in this combat. Ranma now got to see the phenomenon that the rushing air sound succeeded, as the gargoyle gave an indignant howl to being sucked into a pit formed from Ranma's loop in mid air. Ranma warily approached the spot, puzzled to where it had disappeared.   
  
Again, an instinct within him told Ranma that he needed to hurry. Putting his newfound speed to the test, Ranma rushed off on a seemingly predestined path. Ranma floated between the chess pieces, avoiding their moves and collecting scattered music notes as he came across them with haste. Ranma encountered another one of the gargoyles, and dealt with it in the same manner as the other before. Ranma also found that looping around the notes attracted them to him, making their collection much easier.  
  
The trail of notes lead from the shore to the crests, Ranma danced and flitted to avoid the waves from the sudden turbulent waters that matched the suddenly turbulent skies above. Ranma carefully avoided being swallowed into the water, collecting musical notes that were placed high and low, here and there. On top of having to watch for the high waves, the martial artist turned harlequin was forced to evade giant leaping carp that were intent on having him as a meal.  
  
As if it grew extremely irritated at it's lack of success towards hindering the flying harlequin, the ocean rose into a massive tidal wave that rolled towards Ranma. The harlequin's eyes went wide as it saw the giant wave rise above him and began to descend upon him. Ranma felt himself swallowed in it, finding it impossible to gain his bearings as he was thrown about in the tumbling, angry water, he had began to despair as he was thrown head over heals, unable to recover himself. Without even realizing it, Ranma found himself surfing the massive wave on an anchovy that acted like a surfboard . Ranma maneuvered the crest, managing to collect the musical notes that were hung inside, all the time dodging the leaping carp that attempted to impede his way.  
  
Before the wave crashed onto the shore, Ranma flew out from under it, performing barrel rolls in celebration of escaping such a potent trial. He once again spotted the black horse he had seen prior, but this time it was so far behind the rest that it almost had no hope of catching up. Ranma felt almost guilty because of this, but decided that the black horse really didn't belong with the rest of the pale horses.  
  
Ranma flew towards a massive but ruined sandcastle , and set to explore it. Miniature cannons fired at him, though they were not a threat to one who could precariously drift in the air between the mauve cannon balls. Though the artillery was hostile, the drawbridge descended, seeming to beckon Ranma into its maw. Never one to disappoint, Ranma entered, unhindered.  
  
Ranma was surprised to see the insides of the castle made of mirrors, that reflected everything normally, except himself, which his reflection was in various colors . He found himself quite angry at the yellow reflection .  
  
Ranma flew through out its chambers, the mirrors warping as he flew by them, causing an aesthetic and pleasing ripple in them. Ranma noticed that though the space around him seemed empty, if he looked in the mirrors, he would see many musical notes, and when he looped their general area, they would appear and be gathered by the vortex for his collection.  
  
"Impressive, Son-in-law. Your tactical mind seems to meet no bounds."  
  
Ranma stopped flying, and looked around, only to find no one there. He wanted to call out for whom he knew it was to show herself, but felt deeply chagrinned at the sound of his voice at the moment.  
  
"I'm right here, Groom." Ranma turned and looked towards a mirror, and saw almost cat-like Cologne riding on a crane.  
  
"Or perhaps I'm right here?" Ranma turned to see another Cologne on a crane in the mirror opposite the one he was just looking at.  
  
"Maybe even here," Ranma looked up at the ceiling in surprise, "I guess now this is the part where I am supposed to keep you from your goal, you prepared?" Ranma flew back a couple of feet warily. Cologne chuckled and faded from the mirror.  
  
With out so much a warning, Ranma instinctually dodged a miniature tornado that flew horizontally towards him. He turned towards its origin in time to see Cologne smile and fade from the mirror. Ranma again dodged another tornado, and didn't even bother to pause, as he flew full tilt towards the mirror it originated from. Cologne barely had time to fade out as Ranma ran into the mirror she was currently in, causing it to indent, then spring forwards, sending Ranma flying away. Ranma's attempt at catching Cologne did not go unrewarded, as Cologne was spit out of the mirror and into the open.  
  
Ranma moved to attack her, when suddenly, Cologne split into two, then four then six. Ranma found himself surrounded by a dozen Colognes riding cranes, circling around him and brandishing their staffs menacingly, he doubted the chicken leg would work once again.  
  
Ranma remembered that he could fly, and flew straight up, much to his chagrin, the cranes began to flap their wings, and the circle of Colognes rose with him. He flew around, trying to make it difficult for the old woman to attack him while circling around him, and in a fit of desperation, looped. Many of the circle of Colognes were caught in the vortex, causing them to vanish, leaving the real Cologne present. The old woman quickly ran the crane towards a mirror, but didn't make it in time, as Ranma ran full tilt into the back of her. With a squawk, the Amazon matriarch was sent flying off the giant bird, and into the mirror.  
  
Ranma flew in circles, anticipating an attack. Once again, a vortex of wind flew towards him, and he evaded. This time Cologne faded immediately after creating it, and Ranma grit his teeth, waiting for another attack. Out of the corner of his eye, Ranma saw Cologne reappearing in a mirror right before she could begin another attack. As Cologne started to spin her staff towards Ranma, she gasped as the harlequin started to fly straight for her. Cologne ceased her attack and tried to fade from sight, but once again didn't make it before Ranma rammed the window.  
  
Cologne learned from the past, and used the momentum of the springing mirror to launch herself towards the one across it. Ranma had managed to recover in the air, and with a start forward on the old woman, created a loop that completed once she reached its center.  
  
Cologne's eyes went wide, as she was absorbed into the vortex in space, and chuckled, "Not bad, not bad at all Son-in.... Ranma." With that, she vanished.  
  
Ranma quickly approached the spot he had seen the elderly Amazon disappear in, making sure that she had indeed disappeared. The harlequin felt something warm about him, and looked around to see musical notes floating from him. Ranma turned to see a giant music sheet, devoid of any music on its scales. The musical notes Ranma collected flew quickly towards the sheet, and covered it. Once they were all in position, music began to play from what sounded like a music box, replicating what was on the sheet. As the music played, everything began to go white...  
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Ranma grinned, and snuggled a bit more comfortly into his pillow, content that the rest of the night would be peaceful.  
________________________________________  
  
Ranma woke up much more early than usual, for some reason feeling so much more refreshed than he had in days. Though he felt quite a bit relaxed, his mood darkened a bit at the dream he recalled from last night. He was going to have to have a little chat with a certain Amazon Elder.  
  
Ranma got dressed, and gave a curt 'good morning' to Kasumi, as he ran out the door, not even giving the eldest Tendou daughter time to return the greeting.  
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Intermission   
  
Ranma rushed out of the house with his school supplies in hand, and in a single bound from near the front door, he was on the wall of the dojo grounds; with another leap, he was carried over to a nearby roof and sprinting towards his destination.  
  
There was something about his dream last night, something just too peculiar about it. It may have been the fact that it was the first break he had gotten while he was asleep. Instead of the slumbering in a nightmare built from his own self-conciousness, concerns, and fears, it brought him different emotions.   
  
He felt exillaration far beyond anything other than the art had been possible to him. He *felt* the wind caress him as he danced in the sky, he experienced a gleeful joy only the naive innocent should be able to experience as the dream reality's beach sun washed his transmorphef form, regardless of the turbulant dangers that saught to end his slumber prematurely.  
  
The pigtailed boy stopped, just as he reached the edge of the roof, how did he know they were attempting to wake him up? He actually didn't realize that he was aware of the consequences if their attempts were successful.  
  
The though of the final one he had to face brought him back to his current task. Cologne must have had some knowlege of what this was all about; the dream he could feel was laiden with hidden meaning and subtle truths that he needed to face; she should be able to shed some light on it. The final part that was the confrontation with the Amazon Elder riding a large bird did prove one thing; a confrontation between him and the old Ghoul was coming.  
  
Ranma leapt much higher than nessesary, finding a small satisfaction in the elavation that was but a small twinge of what he had found in his dream. Almost like the sweet mild scent of jasmine tea with a touch of honey before the initial soothing sip on a crisp winter day. The burst of emotion gave him an energy that asserted his confidence in a way he had been missing since after the wedding. Ranma landed with a running start, speeding as fast as possible and savoring the rush of air by him, and then once again jumped into the air like he was attempting to soar among the clouds.  
  
Among the experience, Ranma hadn't noticed that the weights that had bound him down were missing. In fact, if he had been paying attention, he would have stopped himself from the embarrasing, childish giggle he was emitting.  
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"HEY! OLD GHOUL!" Ranma shouted, as he strode into the front door of the Cat Cafe.  
  
"Ranma!" a femenine voice that was heavily accented with Mandarin called out. Barely without notice, Ranma dodged the lavender projectile with unconcious ease; something that took said projectile by surprise, as she found herself having to recover into a roll to arrest her momentum..  
  
"OLD GHOUL, I NEED TO TALK TO YA !" Ranma called out, and once again surprising an Amazon, by dodging the downswing of a knarled cane.  
  
"Hmm, good reflexes, Son-in... Ranma," Cologne stated, as she came to resting on her cane, "What brings you by this time of morning? I believe you have school not too soon."  
  
"What do you know about dreams?" Ranma asked, his voice losing the sanguine lilt along with his bearing.  
  
Cologne took a moment of pause to consider the question, before replying, "That is a complicated subject, and although I have much in the way of knowlege, I'm not a trained psychologist in the least. Am I to presume that you have something rather complex to discuss?"  
  
Ranma nodded, ignoring the purple haired girl stalking up behind him.  
  
"Why Ranma dodge Shampoo?" The young Amazon whined, "You avoid Shampoo for too, too long!" Shampoo launched herself at Ranma, and found herself evaded again.  
  
"Yeah, it was a pretty weird dream, and you were in it," Ranma stated, his voice not showing any form of exertion, as he continued to dodge away from Shampoo's attempted glomps.  
  
"Ranma, don't you think I'm a little too old for you?" Cologne replied with a teasing tone.  
  
Ranma slightly only baulked at the implication, "Nothing like that, you were riding a giant bird, A stork or something, and trying to attack me, while going in and out of these mirrors."  
  
Cologne paused once again, "That isn't much more peculiar than any dream I have ever heard. Is there some circumstance that brings you to me to discuss this?"  
  
"Well, you were attacking me in it, and..." Ranma trailed off, sheepishly scratching the back of his head.  
  
"And you presumed I had something to do with it?" Cologne enquired with a raised eyebrow.  
  
"Well, yeah. I mean, it could have been some sort of Amazon trick of yours, to get me to marry Shampoo, I guess," Ranma replied, while lifting one of his legs high into the standing splits, that caused Shampoo to barely pass by him.  
  
"RANMA HOLD STILL!" Shampoo screeched, and then resumed her attempts to snuggle against her beloved's chest. Cologne's eyes narrowed slightly at Ranma's cavalier fashion of avoiding her heir.  
  
"Ranma, I do not go out of my way to make your life uncomfortable," Cologne answered, "Take advantage of situations, yes, but never exert much energy towards you. I want what's best for my Great Granddaughter, and she seems to want you. You can forgive an old woman wanting to make her Great Grandchild happy?"  
  
"RANMA! HOW DARE YOU TEASE SHAMPOO SO?!?"  
  
"Ah, I guess," Ranma replied before tilting his head and grabbing one of the chains launched at him, and then twisting to pull it into an arc that sent the person holding the other end into a wall, just under a heavy shield that fell on top of the myopic boy's head. Cologne used her staff to parry the other projectiles launched after her and Ranma with barely acknowleging their presence, while Shampoo just hid behind Ranma. "Anyhow, you got an idea what was going on there?"  
  
"I cannot say that I have a clue," Cologne said with a slight smirk.  
  
"Well, I guess it's not important anymore, since you said you didn't use any funky Amazon tricks to cause it, I just wanted to be sure." Ranma turned to Shampoo with an irritated expression, causing the girl to stop her latest attempt only inches from his face, "WOULD YOU CUT THAT OUT?!?"  
  
"You're awfully trusting, Ranma," Cologne replied, warily, the pigtailed boy turned away from Shampoo's bewildered expression and shrugged, "But if you're willing, we could discuss this further before your classes?"  
  
"Ah, afraid I gotta get to school now, sorry to bother you!" Ranma replied, dashing out of the Cat Cafe.  
  
Cologne waited until she was sure Ranma was out of earshot, and then sighed, "It was a crane, not a stork." She had not missed the cavalier way that Ranma evaded Shampoo, instead of freezing up as he usually did during her advances. It seemed as if the boy was starting to sort his feelings out, which probably didn't bode well for her Great Granddaughter.  
  
The elder Amazon then went back to her restauranting duties, leaving a bewildered Shampoo standing and wondering what brought on Ranma's reaction to her affections.  
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Akane kept ther thoughts off of Ranma as she walked to school. The dream she had last night made her feel more alive than she could ever recall. The sudden onrush of emotions when she came into contact with that jester that seemed to be trapped were not unpleasant. Her feelings of insecurity were replaced by vibrant expressions of joy, infinite laughter, and all consuming warmth. Even now, she could almost savor the happy feelings paint vibrant colors over the dark gray canvas that she held inside. The raven-haired girl relished in the mere shade of what she had experienced, and still it brought a slight smile to her face.  
  
"It's good to see that you're smiling again, Akane!" Sayuri stated behind the girl, almost causing Akane to jump in startlement.  
  
"Huh? Well, I had a nice night."  
  
"Oh? You get back at Ranma for whatever he did to you yesterday?" Yuka asked from the other side, and then broke into a grin "Or did he finally ask you to the prom?" Both companions notice Akane's expression immidiately darken.  
  
"A-Akane, Where's Ranma anyhow? Don't you usually walk with him to school?" Sayuri enquired, not particularly noticing that she may be stepping onto turbulant lands.  
  
Akane bowed her head, not allowing the other two girls to see the hurt that bled black ink over the lovely canvas that she had been indulging. After a few moments, she managed to gather herself, "Ranma? That jerk went to the Cat Cafe this morning, not that I care."  
  
Akane suddenly bolted, leaving two confused girls. They hadn't bothered to move, as they were trying to figure out why Akane's outburst sounded of feigned emotion.  
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"Hmph, they've already discovered what needs to be done, your plans to hinder the two failed considerably," A phantom-like woman wearing fine velvet burgundy and teal robes with shock red hair that stood out like a cone from the back of her head. She turned to meet with a jester, one garbed in violet and red with a porcelyn painted face.  
  
Reala turned back to the woman that stood over him like an ancient oak to a sapling, even while sitting, "Patience, we did not expect to subdue either of them in the first try, though it would have been nice if we had. NiGHTS assuradly knew enough to keep us from a quick victory."  
  
Zmartwan, the younger sister of Wizemon, turned her blank, featureless face to the harliquin, and spoke in a voice that was heard everywhere, but came from nowhere, "My patience is not finite. I will succeed with my older brother had failed. He lacked the proper might to control all of Nightopia, and with these two subjects, I will have the key to a compatible power that would allow me to subdue any resistance. I want them both adequately quelled so that we may use the boy to syphon the source of his curse energy."  
  
"Yes, Reala is well aware of your plans to use the boy as a direct line to Jusenkyo's energy." Another jester wearing a parka and gloves of all red; his arms, legs, or neck could not bee seen, as if they were invisible or just not there. He casually flipped a trio of playing cards in his hand, before continuing, "And for what has been promised us, we'll do everything we can to ensure that it does not fail."  
  
"See to it that it does not," Zmartwan replied coldly, "As it will be your turn to make an attempt at the boy. I will see to the girl myself."  
  
"Oh, and I have just the way to deal with Ranma," Jackyl smirked sinisterly, and flipped a playing card over to view it's face. It was an ace of spades, with the spades being mini spactulas.  
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Ranma sat in bed, wondering why Akane had avoided him all day, even going as far to switch places with Kasumi at the dinner table so that she wouldn't sit next to him. The sanguine mood he had felt earlier during the day after his confrontation with Cologne had melted away. Ironic, since it was his fiancee's rather cold shoulder which caused it.  
  
The pigtailed boy sighed for another day, and decided that his thoughts could be left for another time. Just like Akane had not too many minutes prior, Ranma laid his head down to rest for the night, anxiously anticipating, and deeply fearing, what dreams may come. 


End file.
